Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun, already convicted of buying out a rival candidate in the 2010 election, received a heavier sentence of one-year in prison in his appeals trial on Tuesday.

The Seoul High Court upheld the lower court’s conviction of Kwak for election law violation and sentenced him to one year in prison, stating that the earlier fine of 30 million won was too weak for his offense. He said he would challenge the ruling and continue his legal fight into the Supreme Court and probably the Constitutional Court.

The court, however, said Kwak will not be placed under immediate arrest, citing his defense rights. Kwak will there fore be able to keep his superintendent job until the verdict is finalized by the Supreme Court. The top court’s decision is expected around July because it is required to make the ruling within three months of the high court decision.

With the heavier ruling in the high court, Kwak faces an uphill battle in the top court.

“Ultimately truth and justice will prevail, and I will continue my efforts to shed the light of truth at the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court,” Kwak told reporters after the appeal ruling, calling the decision unacceptable. 

He declined to comment on whether he would voluntarily resign from his post.

Kwak has been accused of bribing his rival Park Myoung-gee in the Seoul education chief election with 200 million won in return for his withdrawal from the race. Kwak admitted to having offered the money but claimed it was only out of goodwill.

The Seoul Central District Court in January ruled that while the money should be seen as a payoff, it was also convinced that Kwak had good intentions. Upon the ruling, Kwak was released from four months of arrest. Kwak appealed soon after.

“The amount of 200 million won is substantial when compared to past cases of election law violation. It is also admissible that the superintendent paid money for his own interest in exchange for his rival’s withdrawal of candidacy,” the higher ruling said.

The court also sentenced Park to one year and six months in prison and a 200 million fine, a Seoul National University of Education professor, for accepting the money. His sentence has been reduced from the earlier three-year prison term.

Kang Kyung-seon, professor at Korea National Open University who delivered the money from Kwak to Park, saw his fine of 20 million won confirmed.

Park withdrew from the race just a few days prior to the election, leaving Kwak, a former law professor, to vie as the sole candidate supported by the progressive parties against the conservative camp.

Progressive teachers’ groups supportive of Kwak protested the high court decision.

“We regret the sentencing. It was a decision that has caved in to the pressure of the conservative forces by finding him guilty even after admitting that (Kwak) gave (the money) out of good will,” the National Association of Professors for Democratic Society said in a statement.

The conservative Korean Federation of Teachers Associations, on the other hand, called for Kwak’s immediate resignation as superintendent.

“It is a due course for (Kwak) to step down from the post as he not only lost respect ethically but also legally,” said KFTA spokesman Kim Dong-seok.

Kwak has been at the center of various controversies since he became the chief educator of Seoul, by pushing to broaden the human rights of students and introducing free lunch at all schools.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)