The prosecution has summoned the daughter of the justice minister as part of a probe into allegations that she entered prestigious colleges on the back of exaggerated internship experiences or fabricated certificates.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office called in the 28-year-old daughter of Justice Minister Cho Kuk on Monday over its widening investigation into a set of corruption allegations involving the minister's family.

The daughter is at the center of the education-related scandal that has dogged Cho for a month since he was nominated as the minister in August.

Cho's daughter was listed as the primary writer of a pathology paper as a high school student in 2008 after she took part in a two-week internship program at a medical science institute at Dankook University. She cited the experience when she applied to Korea University in 2010.

The prosecution is also looking into allegations that her mother might have played a role in fabricating a school certificate to help her daughter enter medical school in the southern port city of Busan. Cho's wife was indicted over the suspicion early this month.

His wife is also implicated in a dubious investment by his family in a private equity fund (PEF). Cho's immediate family and other relatives were the only investors in the fund, raising doubts about the purpose of the investment.

A relative of the minister, thought to own the company that operates the PEF, was formally arrested Monday on charges of embezzlement and making illicit transactions, among other things, in connection with the PEF investment.

Cho's wife and their two children invested more than 1 billion won ($865,765) in the PEF. The investment was made a few months after Cho was named presidential secretary for civil affairs in May 2017. (Yonhap)