More Than 14 Candidates Declare, Concerns Over Fragmentation
From Candidacy Declarations to Factionalism and Mutual Slander
'Political Prosecution' Emerges in Superintendent Election
Progressives and Conservatives Seek Strategy for Successful Unification
The main candidates for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent by-election, scheduled for October 16, have begun to take shape, marking the start of a full-fledged competition. Both progressive and conservative camps are competing to fill the vacancy left by former Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who held the position for the past decade.
The Seoul Superintendent election targets a large number of voters, comparable to metropolitan mayoral elections, but public interest is relatively low. Election noise caused by a proliferation of candidates is also ongoing. Ultimately, the prevailing assessment is that the outcome will hinge on whether the progressive and conservative camps unify their candidates. This article analyzes the candidate pool and other variables in the Seoul Superintendent election.
More than 14 candidates, a rush to run
Former Hannara Party lawmaker Jo Jeon-hyeok is declaring his candidacy for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education by-election in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 5th. [Photo by Park Jun-yi]
According to the education sector, a total of 14 candidates from both progressive and conservative camps have officially declared their candidacy. From the progressive camp, former Vice Chairman of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union Kang Shin-man, former Superintendent Kwak No-hyun, Seoul National University Professor Kim Kyung-beom, Chairman of the Teachers' Labor Union Federation Kim Yong-seo, former President of Seoul Digital University Kim Jae-hong, former Seoul Metropolitan Education Commissioner Ahn Seung-moon, Seoul National University Emeritus Professor Jung Geun-sik, and former principal of Seoul Oryu Middle School Hong Je-nam have declared their candidacies.
Former Seoul Metropolitan Education Commissioner Choi Bo-seon, who declared candidacy on the 6th, will run independently without participating in candidate unification. Bang Hyun-seok, a professor in Creative Writing at Chung-Ang University and author of the novel "Beomdo," is considering running.
On the conservative side, former Hannara Party lawmaker Cho Jeon-hyuk and former Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations Chairman Ahn Yang-ok declared their candidacies on the 5th. Former Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Park Sun-young and Korea University Professor Hong Hu-jo also expressed their intention to run. Former Seoul Northern Education Superintendent Seon Jong-bok will declare his candidacy on the 9th. Additionally, there are conservative-leaning individuals considering running, so the candidate pool is expected to grow.
Seoul Superintendent election, the same figures again?
Since the introduction of direct elections for superintendents in 2007, the proliferation of candidates and factional confrontations have been pointed out as problems in every election. This has led to the essence of the superintendent election, which is to select the person responsible for Seoul's education, being undermined. Instead of policy debates, negative campaigns or election strategies relying on the support of specific factions have been repeatedly practiced. The term for the superintendent elected in this by-election is only 1 year and 8 months, making it difficult to plan and implement new policies effectively.
Those running for Seoul Superintendent are calculating that winning this election will give them an advantage in the 2026 local elections, but the future is unpredictable as bills to abolish direct elections for superintendents have been proposed in the National Assembly.
The candidates seem to be focusing on victory strategies based on factional logic rather than clear policy debates. Former Superintendent Kwak No-hyun said on the 5th, "This superintendent election will be an interim judgment election on the triple impeachment," adding, "We must prevent educational regression and destruction and protect innovative future education." Former lawmaker Cho Jeon-hyuk said on the 5th, "Over the past decade, Seoul's education has been devastated by left-wing forces represented by former Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon," and added, "We must thoroughly cleanse schools polluted by ideology."
There is also criticism that it is difficult to find fresh faces in this Seoul Superintendent election. Former Superintendent Kwak lost his position after being convicted by the Supreme Court for violating the Public Official Election Act. Former lawmaker Park Sun-young, former lawmaker Cho Jeon-hyuk, and former commissioner Choi Bo-seon were candidates preparing for the 2022 Seoul Superintendent election.
Unification by faction, adjustment of primary rules as variables
The Seoul Democratic Progressive Education Superintendent Promotion Committee (Promotion Committee) held a press conference for candidate unification in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 6th. [Photo by Park Joon-yi]
There is no disagreement that unification will be the biggest variable in this Seoul Superintendent election. It is said that it is difficult for a candidate who runs independently after not participating in unification to win. In fact, unification has influenced the results of Seoul Superintendent elections. The conservative camp failed to unify in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 elections, which led to defeats by progressive candidates.
The progressive camp is also undergoing a unification process this time. The Seoul Democratic Progressive Superintendent Promotion Committee (Promotion Committee) announced on the 5th at a press conference a plan to unify eight candidates excluding former commissioner Choi Bo-seon. They plan to finalize a unified candidate around mid-September after adjusting primary rules.
On the conservative side, two organizations, the Barun Education National Union and the Pan-Citizen Social Organizations Coalition, formed the "Moderate Right-Wing Candidate Unification Integration Committee" (Integration Committee) to pursue unification. The Integration Committee is accepting unification applications, but conservative candidates remain lukewarm about joining unification. The conservative camp formed the promotion organizations before candidate recruitment and set primary rules for candidate endorsement. The rule proposed by the Integration Committee is a "100% public opinion poll" method.
A representative of a conservative candidate said, "We agree on the necessity of unification, but we want discussions among those who have actually registered as preliminary candidates," adding, "Coordination of opinions among candidates on the primary rules is also necessary."
The progressive camp is also considering the possibility of unification failure. Kwon Hye-jin, co-chair of the Promotion Committee, said, "We are trying to prevent the worst-case scenario of 'disintegration' as much as possible," explaining, "The biggest challenge is gathering candidate preferences and building consensus during the rule meeting process."
Those preparing to run are expected to begin full-scale election campaigns after registering as preliminary candidates. As of 9:30 a.m. on the 6th, former principal Hong Je-nam and former chairman Ahn Yang-ok have completed preliminary candidate registration with the National Election Commission. Preliminary candidate registration continues until the 25th, and candidate registration applications will be accepted on the 26th and 27th. Early voting will take place on the 11th and 12th of next month, with the main vote on the 16th.
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