Seoul Education Chief, Mr Kwak Nohyun, has been sentenced by an appeals court to one year imprisonment for bribing his election rival, Mr Park Myong-gee.
Mr Nohyun bribed Mr Myong-gee with 200 million won to encourage him to leave the education chief race so that Mr Nohyun would win the position.
Mr Nohyun maintains that he is innocent of all charges. Remarking that: “There were no bargains and deals with Professor Park in return for buying a candidate seat […] And I have consistently expressed my intentions throughout the election period that I’m firmly against illegal money trading”. Mr Kohyun insists that he gave money to Mr Myong-gee out of a “goodwill gesture” to assist him with his financial difficulties.
Mr Nohyun received a heavier penalty than at the first ruling. Originally he was only fined 30 million won ($26,322).
