Prosecutors Request Arrest Warrant for Former Seoul Education Superintendent Candidate Jo Young-dal on Bribery Charges

Violation of the Education Autonomy Act
Arrest Warrants Requested for 2 Camp Officials as Well

Jo Young-dal, former candidate for Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, legal affairs specialist] The prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for former Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent candidate Jo Young-dal on charges of providing money during the election process.

On the 23rd, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) announced that it had requested a pre-arrest warrant the previous day for former candidate Jo and two campaign associates on charges of violating the Local Education Autonomy Act.

Jo and others are suspected of providing money exceeding the standard amount to campaign workers during the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent election in June.

The Education Autonomy Act largely adopts provisions from the Public Official Election Act, which stipulates that only actual expenses and legally prescribed allowances (such as 60,000 won for election workers) may be paid to election workers.

Earlier, the police transferred the case, in which the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission filed a complaint against former candidate Jo, to the prosecution on the 16th, and the prosecution recently conducted a search and seizure at Jo's residence and other locations.

Jo, who previously served as the Presidential Secretary for Education and Culture and as Dean of the College of Education at Seoul National University, ranked fourth in the election with 6.63% of the vote. The winner was Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who received 38.1% of the vote.

The prosecution is expected to conduct further investigations after securing Jo's custody and to indict him before the statute of limitations expires on the 1st of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.