Former Seoul Education Superintendent Candidate Jo Young-dal Arrested on Charges of Offering Bribes

Former Seoul Superintendent of Education candidate Jo Young-dal is seated at the Seoul Superintendent of Education election candidates' debate held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul, on May 23./Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former candidate Cho Youngdal (62), who is accused of illegally giving money and goods to campaign workers during this year's Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent election (violation of the Education Autonomy Act), has been detained.

On the morning of the 26th, Judge Kim Jungmin, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, stated, "There is a significant concern that evidence may be destroyed among the co-suspects due to their positions and relationships during the election process," and issued arrest warrants for former candidate Cho and two campaign associates, as requested by the prosecution.

Previously, former candidate Cho and others were suspected of paying campaign workers amounts exceeding legal limits during the election. There were also indications that money was given to individuals not officially registered as campaign workers or provided arbitrarily without following legally prescribed methods.

The Education Autonomy Act largely adopts provisions from the Public Official Election Act, which allows only reimbursement of actual expenses and legally stipulated allowances (such as 60,000 KRW for election workers). The investigation team is known to have secured related evidence by recently conducting a search and seizure at former candidate Cho's residence and other locations.

With former candidate Cho in custody, the prosecution is expected to indict him before the statute of limitations expires on the 1st of next month. They also plan to expedite investigations into other individuals involved, such as campaign workers who received money or goods.

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

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