Centrist and Conservative Candidates Hold Separate Kickoff Rallies
Park Seon-yeong: "Will Meet If Intentions Align"
Jo Jeon-hyeok: "Will Make Efforts to Unite"
Jo Yeong-dal: "No Immediate Plans to Meet"
Candidate Jo Hee-yeon Campaigns in Nowon District
On the 19th, Jo Jeon-hyeok, a candidate for Seoul Superintendent of Education, held an election kickoff rally at Cheonggye Plaza.
Candidates running for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education held campaign kickoff events on the 19th, the official start date of election campaigning, and began their full-scale election activities.
Candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok held his kickoff event at Cheonggye Square in the morning, Park Seon-young held hers at Yongsan Station Square, and Cho Hee-yeon held his in front of Lotte Department Store in Nowon-gu. Candidate Jo Young-dal held his kickoff event in Jeong-dong, Jung-gu in the afternoon, and after shaving his head, planned to continue a three-step, one-bow march to Gwanghwamun Square.
Even one day before the printing of ballots begins on the 20th, discussions on unification remain stagnant. At the candidate unification pledge ceremony held on the 16th by the Citizens' and Social Leaders' Meeting for the unification of moderate-conservative candidates for Seoul Office of Education, only Park Seon-young attended, and the three-way unification returned to square one.
On the 16th, Park Sun-young attended and spoke at a press conference held by the Civic and Social Leaders' Meeting for the unification of moderate conservative education superintendent candidates.
While focusing on kickoff events and campaigning on the first day of electioneering, the candidates have not completely given up on unification. There is still room for unification between Park Seon-young and Jo Jeon-hyeok.
A representative from Park Seon-young’s camp stated, "We agreed to a 100% public opinion poll method, and if Jo Jeon-hyeok had shown up, unification would have been achieved. However, he proposed a one-on-one unification but did not appear, which seems to indicate an intention not to cooperate with unification. There is room with Jo Jeon-hyeok, so if our intentions align, we can meet again anytime."
Jo Jeon-hyeok’s camp said, "Our position to strive for unification remains unchanged. We will continue efforts until just before the election," but added, "Even if we unify with Park Seon-young, it is not a complete unification. Proper unification means all three candidates unifying."
A representative from Jo Young-dal’s camp said, "Through the head-shaving ceremony and declaration announcement, we will send a desperate message that Seoul education must be revived and urge unification," adding, "Unification is open until the election, but there are currently no special plans."
Unification including Jo Young-dal seems unlikely. On the evening of the 16th, Jo Jeon-hyeok met with Jo Young-dal to discuss unification but only confirmed differences in opinion. Jo Jeon-hyeok posted on Facebook, "I asked him to propose 50% policy debate and 50% public opinion poll, but Jo Young-dal said there was no content, which was disappointing," and "He has always had a different philosophical, ideological, and political DNA from us, and in 2014 he was a unification candidate with Cho Hee-yeon. I will no longer classify him as part of the conservative camp," but later deleted the post.
Jo Jeon-hyeok formed a ‘Moderate-Conservative Education Superintendent Candidates Alliance’ with 10 candidates including Lim Tae-hee, candidate for Gyeonggi Province Office of Education. They agreed to campaign together under the slogan ‘Out with the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (Jeon-gyo-jo)’. At the kickoff event, Jo emphasized, "Citizens must judge and remove Cho Hee-yeon. The education superintendent position is not meant to be a screen for Jeon-gyo-jo," and "By publicly disclosing the Jeon-gyo-jo membership list, we dealt an irreparable blow to Jeon-gyo-jo. I am the only candidate who can win the fight against Jeon-gyo-jo."
Park Seon-young stated, "If I become education superintendent, I will definitely solve the basic academic skills problem and greatly expand necessary but financially burdensome curriculum programs such as coding education, STEAM education, AI education, and arts and physical education to relieve students’ economic and time burdens."
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