SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said Wednesday they have indicted a college professor under custody for allegedly receiving money from the Seoul education chief in return for withdrawing his bid for the post in last year's election.
Park Myoung-gee, a professor at Seoul National University of Education, was prosecuted on charges of getting 200 million won
($182,066) from Kwak No-hyun who was elected in June last year as the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said.
The money was given earlier in 2011 after Kwak's election camp allegedly made a secret pledge in May 2010 with Park, then a rival candidate from the same liberal bloc, to provide a financial reward for withdrawing from the election for the high-profile public post.
Park is also suspected to have gained a position as a Seoul city education advisor in return for the withdrawal.
The prosecution is also set to indict Kwak next week on charges of paying off the rival candidate in violation of the election law.
Prosecutors are interrogating the incumbent education superintendent on the sources of the money given to Park after arresting him over the weekend.
Throughout the prosecution interrogation, which started early last week, Kwak denied the charges and retained his previous stance that the money was not a reward for Park's withdrawal but given only as a gesture of "goodwill" for the professor who had heavy debts from the election campaign.
