Kwak No-hyun, a disgraced former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

A disgraced liberal contender for the next chief of the Seoul education office vowed Friday to stay in the race despite criticism from both the left and the right.

Kwak No-hyun, who was ousted as chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education after being convicted of corruption in 2012, said he will continue to participate in the by-election race and that he will fight any political attempt to force him out.

“No candidate leading the polls bows out,” he told reporters at the National Assembly in Seoul. “There have been malicious slander and unwarranted pressure for me to resign as I run for the race, with the election day just around the corner.”

Citing the law that prohibits political parties from interfering in elections for leadership positions in local education offices, Kwak cautioned against any attempts to target him.

This comes after Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, criticized him on Monday for running in the by-election, scheduled for Oct. 16. Han said that Kwak's decision to run for Seoul's top education post was, ironically, not good for education.

In the 2010 election for the post, Kwak was indicted and eventually found guilty of offering his rival candidate, Park Myung-ki, 200 million won ($150,000) in return for leaving the race so that he could stand as the “unified” liberal candidate.

Criticism against Kwak's decision to run also came from the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea. Rep. Jin Sung-joon urged him to reconsider the decision the next day, saying it was inappropriate for him to run for the post.

According to a survey released by KSOI, a pollster, on Wednesday, Kwak was ahead of other liberal contenders, with 14.4 percent saying they would support him, followed by Jung Keun-sik, honorary professor of sociology at Seoul National University (12.2 percent).