By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Seoul's top educator could be forced to resign after a Seoul court fined him 1.5 million won for omitting a borrowed-named account in his wealth report ahead of the election campaign last June. But he was cleared on charges of violating the Election Law.
If the Supreme Court upholds the sentence, Kong Jeong-taek, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will have to quit the post.
Current law stipulates superintendents fined more than one million won should resign. His term expires in June. By law, if the top education post becomes vacant less than a year into a term, the vice superintendent takes the position.
The prosecution demanded a six-month prison for the accused on charges of underreporting his wealth by 400 million won and receiving illegal campaign funds from private cram school operators.
``We concluded that Kong deliberately left out the borrowed-name bank account in the mandatory report and if the omitted money had been properly reported, it could have influenced election results,'' Kim Yong-sang, presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court, said in his ruling.
The court said Kong could not be held responsible for the illegal receipt of money from private cram schools as the election management commission holds the view that the election of superintendents has nothing to do with the Political Funds Law.
Quit or Not?
Following the ruling an umbrella organization of progressive teachers' unions called on Kong to immediately resign. ``Kong lost his legal and ethical credibility as Seoul's top educator,'' it said in a statement.
``Top educators of North Gyeongsang and South Chungcheong resigned following their indictment for violating the Election Law. We don't expect such ethics from Kong, but he will face severe criticism if he tries to keep his position through an appeal to the upper court,'' said the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union.
Kong won the election with promises to push through President Lee Myung-bak's competition-driven reforms. Kong, 72, was reelected to his third-term in the direct election, narrowly beating progressive Jou Kyong-bok, who campaigned on a platform of egalitarianism in the school system.