The Second Deadline for Unifying Conservative Candidates for Seoul Superintendent of Education is '16th'

Unification Talks to Continue Until the 16th When Ballot Printing Begins
Candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok Proposes Two Plans to Candidates Jo Young-dal and Park Sun-young
50% Polls + 50% Debate, 100% Polls

Employees are working at the Election Comprehensive Situation Room of the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 12 days before the 8th nationwide local elections, which are 20 days away. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] All seven candidates running for Seoul Superintendent of Education have completed their official candidate registrations. Conservative and moderate candidates, who are in a tug-of-war over unification plans, have agreed to continue unification discussions until the 16th, when ballot printing begins.

According to the Election Commission on the 15th, the conservative candidates Park Seon-young, Jo Jeon-hyeok, Jo Young-dal, and Yoon Ho-sang, as well as the progressive candidates Cho Hee-yeon, Kang Shin-man, and Choi Bo-seon, have all completed their registrations.

The three conservative candidates Park Seon-young, Jo Jeon-hyeok, and Jo Young-dal have set the 16th as the unification deadline. Although they continued one-on-one unification talks before official registration, they failed to find common ground but have not given up on unification negotiations.

Candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok for Seoul Superintendent of Education registered as a candidate with the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission on the 12th.

The day before, candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok proposed two unification plans via Facebook. The first plan is the '50% opinion poll and 50% policy debate' suggested by candidate Jo Young-dal, and the second plan is the '100% opinion poll' he proposed to candidate Park. He stated that he would accept either plan if both candidates agree.

Candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok said, "If the two candidates agree, I will accept any method," adding, "I will actively respond to the public and citizens' desire for unification." Candidate Park Seon-young, after failing to negotiate unification with candidate Jo Young-dal on the 13th, stated, "We have no choice but to wait until the 16th."

In response, candidate Jo Young-dal said, "As an educator, policies, qualifications, and abilities must be reflected in more than 50% of the unification process through methods such as policy debates," and "I clearly oppose pushing for unification of moderate-conservative candidates for Seoul Superintendent of Education solely through a 100% opinion poll."

Despite passing the first unification deadline of candidate registration, discussions remain stagnant. If a candidate withdraws after registration, the deposit (50 million KRW) cannot be refunded. Since campaign costs will surge once the election campaign officially begins, unification discussions must be concluded before the second deadline, which is before ballot printing.

On the 13th, Jo Young-dal, a candidate for Seoul Superintendent of Education, registered as a candidate with the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission.

Although ballot printing starts on the 16th, the printing of ballots for the Superintendent of Education election will begin in earnest on the 20th, making the 19th effectively the final deadline.

Another reason unification cannot be overlooked is that if multiple conservative candidates run, the chances of defeat increase. In the 2018 local elections, candidate Park Seon-young received 36.2% of the vote, candidate Jo Young-dal received 17.3%, and they lost to Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who received 46.6%.

There have been no unification discussions among the progressive candidates. Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon said, "Artificial unification is not appropriate." On the 14th, candidate Cho held the opening ceremony of the 'Hope Connection Camp.'

Early voting for the local elections will take place on May 27-28, and the main voting day is June 1. The campaign period runs from May 19 to 31.