By Bae Hyun-jung
The prosecution is set to question Seoul education chief Kwak No-hyun on Monday over allegations that he bought his rival out of the race in last year’s election, after investigators rounded off their preliminary probe on key aides over the weekend.
Kwak admitted on Aug. 28 that he handed over 200 million won ($188,324) to his former rival Park Myoung-gee but claimed that it was given out of goodwill, not in exchange for his candidacy withdrawal.
The Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office summoned on Saturday Kim Seong-oh, who worked as Kwak’s negotiator to unify the opposition candidates in last year’s education superintendent election.
He was questioned on a suspected monetary deal between the two candidates, made before Park stepped down, that left Kwak as the sole opposition candidate.
Kim, a key aide to Kwak, has acted as his spokesperson ever since the bribery probe kicked off late last month and is considered a key witness to the case.
He also told reporters last Thursday that Park had offered to step down in exchange for money but Kwak refused to comply.
During the prosecutorial probe, Kim admitted knowing that two key aides of Kwak and Park met shortly after the initial candidate unification negotiations failed in May 2010, according to officials.
He denied being involved in the negotiations between the two.
Prosecution officials doubt Kim’s story and have pledged to clear up the contents of the covert deal.
Kwak’s aide, surnamed Lee, earlier admitted that in talks with his counterpart he promised help for Park, but claimed that Kwak was unaware of the deal until Park asked for the money. Lee was also questioned over the weekend.
His statements overturned the Kwak camp’s previous position, which claimed that two officials’ previous meeting was for personal reasons.
Based on Lee’s words, authorities are expected to focus on trying to prove that Kwak knew about the deal and whether the agreement included details of monetary transactions.
In any case, should Lee turn out to have offered financial compensation in exchange for candidacy withdrawal, election law dictates that Kwak will lose his elected post regardless of whether he knew about it or not.
Park’s aides, however, denied that the candidate’s consent was required for such a crucial deal.
Park also said during questioning on Saturday that Kwak wrote a fake promissory note upon delivering the money, in order to dodge suspicions, according to officials.
Kwak is required to present himself at the prosecution on Monday morning.
(tellme@heraldcorp.com)