[Insight & Opinion] Seoul Superintendent Election Turns into an Ideological Battleground

Slogans of "Impeaching the Administration" and "Eradicating the Left" Emerge
The Arena of Education Policy Turns into a Battlefield of Political Factions

With former Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon losing his position after a final guilty verdict from the Supreme Court, a by-election to elect a new superintendent will be held on October 16. However, nine candidates from the progressive camp and five from the conservative camp have already declared their intention to run, leading to a crowded field. While there is still time to observe how candidate unification within each camp will unfold, the real issue is that the superintendent election, which should select the head of Seoul’s education, is turning into a political battleground between factions.

The figure who has sparked the most heated political controversy is Gwak Noh-hyun, a prospective candidate from the progressive camp. He was elected Seoul education superintendent in 2010 but lost his position in 2012 after a confirmed conviction for violating election laws. This was due to an unequitable charge of bribing a rival candidate with money. Since his election was invalidated, he was supposed to repay about 3 billion KRW of the 3.5 billion KRW election deposit, but reportedly has yet to repay around 3 billion KRW. Despite this, his intention to run again for superintendent is perplexing and difficult to accept.

Other progressive candidates and members of the Democratic Party have also voiced concerns about Gwak’s candidacy. Nevertheless, he has filed a lawsuit against Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, who criticized his run, and has declared he will not step down despite calls from fellow progressive candidates to stop unfair pressure to withdraw. Upon announcing his candidacy, Gwak stated, “This election is to protect our education from prosecutorial power,” and claimed, “This election will serve as an interim judgment leading to a triple impeachment of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.” While opinions on the current prosecution vary, linking the superintendent election to prosecutorial power is difficult to understand, and bringing up presidential impeachment further transforms the superintendent election into a political confrontation, which is hard to avoid criticizing.

Meanwhile, Jo Jeon-hyeok, a former Hannara Party lawmaker and conservative candidate, has launched ideological attacks against the “leftist forces.” He argued, “Over the past decade, Seoul’s education has been devastated by leftist forces represented by former Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon,” and insisted, “We must thoroughly cleanse schools polluted by ideology.” Regarding Gwak’s candidacy, he said, “Those leftist people all conveniently have the ‘court’ on their side,” and accused them of “committing shameless crimes while talking about conscience,” criticizing from an ideological left-right perspective. Jo stated, “Conservative patriotic citizens have an urgent feeling that the Seoul education superintendent cannot be lost to the progressive leftist forces.”

Among the candidates, some mention the need for political neutrality of the superintendent, but most have already divided into left and right camps, treating this election as a political battle. In fact, there is a phenomenon where polling support rates are higher when a candidate clearly represents the political stance of one camp.

In this environment, what educational policies each candidate proposes has become a secondary concern. When the superintendent election, responsible for students’ education, turns into a left-right ideological confrontation, it seems inevitable that whoever is elected will become a “political superintendent.” The current situation, where the content students learn in classrooms changes depending on which camp’s candidate wins the superintendent seat, is highly abnormal. Under such circumstances, education cannot be a “century-long plan” but inevitably becomes a “four-year plan.”

Both progressive and conservative camps are reportedly struggling over whether to unify candidates. It is hard to see how this differs from politicians’ elections. Although it is called a superintendent election, it is difficult to find any difference from a political election. Hopefully, no candidate trapped in excessive ideology and politics will take a position responsible for students’ education.

Yu Chang-seon, Political Commentator