“After taking office, I learnt about the dire conditions professor Park was in. I provided financial support to him out of goodwill, because I could not turn a blind eye to him,” Kwak No-hyun, superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, told a press conference.

Later in the day, prosecutors said they had already banned him from overseas travel.  

He referred to Park Myoung-gee, professor at Seoul National University of Education, who pulled out of the race about two weeks before the voting, leaving Kwak as a sole candidate representing the liberal opposition. Kwak won the election, becoming Seoul’s first elected chief of education.

Kwak claimed the withdrawal of Park from the election was a decision that he made by himself for the sake of the liberals’ victory. 

“There was no compensation for it, or any mention of it between us,” the official said.

His press conference came hours after the public prosecutors’ office sought an arrest warrant for Park, accusing him for pocketing 130 million won in kickbacks from the Kwak’s camp in return for dropping out of the race.

According to the investigators, Park, under the authorities’ custody since Friday, received the money through his brother from a confidant of Kwak on three occasions between February and April this year. They plan to the confidant for questioning soon.

The prosecutors are also looking into the appointment of Park last June as an advisor to the Seoul education office to see if it was another form of kickback for his withdrawal from the election.    

Opposition parties strongly denounced the prosecution for a “politically-motivated” investigation targeting the liberal-minded education reformer, who often clashed with the conservative government of President Lee Myung-bak.  

“(The conservative regime) is plotting retaliation against the liberal education chief for the drubbing he gave to conservatives in the free school meal battle,” said Lee Gyu-ui, a spokesperson for the main opposition Democratic Party.

The probe into Kwak comes on the heels of a vote on Wednesday in Seoul on free school meals, where he dealt a blow to conservative mayor Oh Se-hoon and the ruling Grand National Party. Oh, considered as one of the GNP’s candidates for the next presidency, resigned Friday, taking responsibility for the defeat.

Kwak pushed for a plan to provide free lunches to all elementary and middle school students, while Oh and the GNP insisted on giving them only to poor children.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)