DP Joins call for resignation ; Oct . 26 by - elections may include education chief The opposition camp faced an unexpected obstacle in gearing up for elections including for Seoul mayor , as calls for the city ’ s liberal education chief to resign over bribery allegations indicated his position may also be put to a by - election . Kwak No - hyun admitted Sunday that he delivered 200 million won ( $ 186 , 272 ) to one of his former election rivals , who dropped out of the race just before the vote , leaving Kwak the sole opposition candidate against six conservatives . Though Kwak claimed that the money was given out of goodwill and was not related to Park ’ s withdrawal , parties demanded his resignation . Kwak was the leading figure in the opposition camp ’ s plan to provide free meals to all elementary schools . For the ruling party , it came as a timely chance to make up ground after the failure of the free meal plebiscite and subsequent resignation of Mayor Oh Se - hoon . “ Kwak should step down immediately , taking responsibility as an educational leader for being involved in a corruption charge , ” said Rep . Hong Joon - pyo , chairman of the ruling Grand National Party on Monday . “ The very fact that he was involved in such a corruption scandal has greatly disappointed the people and brought disgrace on his own reputation . ” The main opposition DP also expressed regrets over the case . “ I hope that Kwak will look back on his actions and take due responsibility , ” said DP chairman Rep . Sohn Hak - kyu , apparently hinting that the education chief should resign . Supreme Council member Rep . Park Joo - sun also said that Kwak ’ s explanations Sunday were insufficient to overturn the charges of misconduct . Other high - ranking lawmakers followed suit , expressing concerns that the case may worsen public opinion of the opposition camp ’ s ethical standards . “ Kwak ’ s case is a crisis for the entire liberal camp , ” said Rep . Choo Mi - ae of the DP on Twitter . Should Kwak offer his resignation before Sep . 30 , the election of his successor would be held on Oct . 26 , along with the Seoul mayor election . The conservative minority Liberty Forward Party , on the other hand , criticized both the GNP and the DP . “ It is highly doubtful that Kwak could have given out 200 million won just out of goodwill at the risk of being involved in bribery allegations , ” said the party ’ s spokesperson through a statement . “ The prosecution , too , may not escape the blame that it politically targeted at the opposition camp by picking up on Kwak ’ s case as soon as the plebiscite ended . ” By Bae Hyun - jung ( tellme @ heraldm . com )