A regional court rejected a lawsuit that the daughter of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk filed to seek the cancellation of Pusan National University's decision to nullify her admission to its medical school over academic fraud.

Last April, the state-run university in the southeastern port city retroactively canceled Cho Min's admission in 2015, after the Supreme Court convicted her mother of forging some of the academic credentials used in the daughter's application.

The younger Cho then filed lawsuits seeking to suspend and ultimately cancel the decision, claiming the school's internal probe found the forged documents had no influence on her admission.

On Thursday, the Busan District Court denied the request, which will effectively cancel her admission and strip her status as a medical school graduate 30 days after she receives the sentencing in papers.

The academic fraud involving the family of Cho Kuk in 2019 ended up sharply dividing the nation, prompting massive rallies both in support and against his nomination as a justice minister.

Cho, considered then one of the closest confidants of former President Moon Jae-in, left office just 35 days after his appointment.

Source: Yonhap News Agency