"I look forward to Professor Chung Kyung-shim's speedy release from prison, and for freedom to return to Professor Cho Guk's family amid these hardships. I assert as long the cruel experience of Cho Guk's family continues, there is no justice," said Professor Baek.
Baek Tae-ung, Professor of Law and international human rights expert, calls for the immediate release of Cho Guk's wife, Chung Kyung-shim, from prison, and the reinstatement of daughter Cho Min's college degrees by the universities which removed her college admission credentials (and consequently her right to pursue a medical career). The two universties' administrative actions were based upon the questionable conviction in her mother's criminal trials for allegedly fabricating a volunteer service award to bolster her daughter's academic credentials for college admission. Professor Baek criticized the universities' decisions as well, saying they reflected an abandonment of academic autonomy and that they had the discretion to decide otherwise. Going forward, the prominent human rights authority, said he looked forward to the quick release of Professor Jung Kyeong-shim from prison, the restoration of Cho Min's professional college credentials and an end to the cruel continuing reality of Cho-Guk's prosecution and family situation. Cho Guk indicated he would pursue legal actions to challenge the university decisions.
Cho Guk is the former Justice Minister appointed during the Moon adminitration to implement critical reforms to the centralized prosecutors' offices in South Korea, which have been used to selectively prosecute political rivals and critics and, at the same time, to protect corrupt special interests in South Korea. The overwhelming power of the prosecution offices are not subject to meaningful checks and balances, and are therefore prone to political abuse. Some say this is a legacy of the former Japanese adminstration during Korea's colonial period, and also the abuse of the administration of justice during the period of dictatorships. Korea's centralized justice system is unique in this respect when compared to other modern "democratic" states. The continued abuse of judicial administration by prosecutors is a grave threat to South Korean democracy. Democrats in the National Assembly are now considering further measures to divest prosecutors of their monopoly on investigative and prosecutorial powers. On the other side, president elect, Yoon Seok-yeol, who will take office May 10, has indicated that he will strip the office of the Justice Minister of authority to conduct independent legal investigations, and further solidify the complete independence of the prosecutor general's offices from outside supervision or interference. The fear is that with the former Prosecutor General in the presidential office and his league of followers in prosecution offices, South Korea is facing potential tyrany.
*백태웅 교수, 조민 입학취소에…“정의는 없다”
입력 2022-04-07 16:25, 박선현 기자
https://www.etoday.co.kr/news/view/2121828
Baik Tae-Ung (born 1962) is Professor of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is Director of the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. A leading academic authority on transitional justice, social movement, and human rights in Asia, he specializes in international human rights law, comparative law, and Korean law.[1] Baik is a well-known former South Korean prisoner of conscience.
In 2015, he was appointed to the United Nations Human Rights Council [2] Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) as an independent expert representing the Asia-Pacific region.[3] He is currently serving as Chair-Rapporteur of the WGEID after working as Vice-Chair for two years since 2018.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baik_Tae-ung
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