Interrogation focuses on whether 200 million won was bribe


Kwak No-hyun, Seoul’s embattled education chief, faced interrogation from city prosecutors on allegations that he paid a rival candidate to quit last year’s election.

An expressionless Kwak arrived at the lobby of the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office at around 11 a.m., greeted by a feisty crowd of supporters, opponents and the media.

He went straight to the interrogation room without saying a word. 

Before leaving his office at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Kwak vowed to fight with all his strength to clear his name.

“What was a gesture of pure goodwill has been painted as a crime,” he said.

On Aug. 28, Kwak admitted to offering 200 million won to Park Myoung-gee but insisted that the money was not a kickback payment in return for his withdrawal just two weeks before the vote.

However, Park, a professor of Seoul National University of Education who is already under arrest, claims that the two camps had a deal, including monetary compensation worth 700 million won. He claims Kwak did not keep his promise, giving him just 200 million won.

These contrasting claims were among the key points that prosecutors were trying to verify during their interrogation.

They allege that aides of Kwak and Park struck a deal on behalf of their bosses on the eve of Park’s withdrawal.

Kwak claims no knowledge of it.

The investigators were set to dig into the source of the 200 million won that Kwak had his friend deliver to Park’s brother in four installments from February to April to see if any irregularities were involved.

Prosecutors will determine whether to seek an arrest warrant for Kwak shortly after questioning, officials said.

The education chief, if convicted of the charges, could lose his seat. Under the local election rules, an elected public officeholder is stripped of the post if he or she is fined more than 1 million won.

Kwak’s attorney cried foul for law enforcement authorities’ breach of their own rules in publishing details of a suspected crime, in violation of the presumption of innocence.

A local newspaper reported Monday the details of transcripts that the arrested professor claims to have documented from voice recordings of his dialogue with Kwak and his camp regarding the agreement.

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