Cho was convicted on charges of forging his children's credentials for university admissions, obstructing prosecutors' investigation while serving as a presidential aide during the Moon Jae-in administration, and other offenses.
With the ruling, the former Justice Minister lost his parliamentary seat and is expected to be imprisoned in accordance with legal procedures. He will also be barred from running for public office for the next five years.
First indicted in December 2019, it took nearly five years for him to conclude his lengthy legal battles.
Earlier in 2022, his wife Chung Kyung-shim was sentenced to four years in jail for the same academic fraud and financial misconduct in 2022 and was released on parole in September last year after serving most of her sentence.
Meanwhile, with Cho being stripped of his parliamentary seat, uncertainties remain regarding the vote on the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over last week's botched martial law declaration.
With the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) holding a majority of 170 lawmakers in the National Assembly, the opposition bloc now needs a handful of additional votes to secure the two-thirds majority, or 200 votes, required to pass the impeachment.
It remains to be seen whether the impeachment will pass, but several lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party have expressed their intention to vote in favor of it.
The vote, which will decide the embattled president's fate, is slated for 5 p.m. on Saturday.
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