One-year prison term confirmed for Seoul education chief

The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a one-year prison term for Seoul's education chief Kwak No-hyun for bribery charges, stripping the disgraced liberal educator of his post.

The 58-year-old superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education was indicted last year on charges of paying 200 million won (US$178,842) to a fellow liberal candidate to drop out of the election for Seoul's top education post in 2010.

After rival candidate Park Myoung-gee, a former professor at the Seoul National University of Education, withdrew a few days before the election day, Kwak won the seat by a narrow margin.

Under the election law, the education chief loses his post if the top court hands down a punishment with a fine of over 1 million won or imprisonment.

With the top court's ruling, Kwak, who spent about four months in prison after the issuance of his arrest warrant in September last year, will have to serve the remaining eight months in custody.

He will also have to return about 3.52 billion won he received from the national election watchdog during his campaign.

In the same ruling, the top court upheld an imprisonment of one year and six months and a forfeit of 200 million won for Park.

A re-election for the post of chief will be held on Dec. 19, the same day as the presidential vote, according to the National Election Commission.

Kwak has continued to claim he is innocent, saying he was unaware of the exchange that took place between his aides and the rival candidate after the election was over.

Despite Kwak's claims the money given to Park by Kwak's aide was not payment for Park's withdrawal, a regional Seoul court in January fined him 30 million won for violating the election law. In April, a Seoul appellate court sentenced Kwak to a one-year prison term, saying the lower regional court's fine was too light. (Yonhap News)


<관련 한글 기사>


곽노현 유죄 확정! 교육감직 상실


후보자 매수 혐의로 2심에서 징역 1년을 선고받은 곽노현(58) 서울시교육감에 대한 상고심에서 실형이 확정됐다.

이에 따라 곽 교육감은 교육감직에서 물러나고 잔여 형기(약 8개월)를 복역해야 한다.

대법원 2부(주심 이상훈 대법관)는 2010년 6월 서울시 교육감 선거를 앞두고 중도 사퇴한 박명기(54) 서울교대 교수에게 2억원을 건넨 혐의(지방교육자치에 관한 법률 위반)로 기소된 곽 교육감에 대한 상고심에서 징역 1년을 선고한 원심을 27일 확정했다.

곽 교육감으로부터 돈을 받은 박 교수에게는 징역 1년6개월 및 추징금 2억원을 선고한 원심이 확정됐다. (연합뉴스)