SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- A Seoul court on Saturday issued an arrest warrant for the city's education chief over allegations that he bribed his rival candidate in last year's election to get him to drop out of the race.

Kwak No-hyun, who was elected superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in the election, earlier admitted to having given 200 million won (US$185,700) to Park Myoung-gee early this year, a rival candidate from the same liberal bloc who quit in the middle of the race.

Prosecutors suspect the money was a reward for Park's withdrawal, which contributed to Kwak's election victory. Kwak, however, has consistently denied the suspicions, claiming the money was given only as a gesture of "goodwill" for Park, who was suffering heavy debts from his own election campaign before withdrawing his bid.

Kwak, if convicted of buying off his rival candidate, a violation of the current election law, and punished with a fine of over 1 million won, will be stripped of his post.

Kwak's deputy is set to take over the post when he is detained for further questioning.

"I have already told the truth. Nothing terrifies me. The truth will liberate me," Kwak said before attending a court hearing for the warrant decision that started at 2:00 p.m. Friday.

The widening election scandal surrounding the liberal superintendent, widely known for his clean image, triggered starkly polarized public opinions, highlighting a deep rift between the country's conservatives and progressives.

The prosecution investigation came at a delicate time politically, as the conservative ruling Grand National Party moves to bolster its tarnished image to win the Seoul mayoral post, vacated by Oh Se-hoon last month.

Oh offered to resign late August after failing to block the liberal city council's costly free school lunch program, supported by the education superintendent.