Leading Candidate Eliminated in Primary, Reasons
Three-Way Race Among Kang Sinman, Jeong Geunsik, Hong Jenam
Independent Candidacies by Kim Jaehong, Jo Gisuk, Bang Hyunseok
Conservative and Progressive Camps to Select Single Candidate on 25th
Confusion continues over the unification process within both conservative and progressive camps ahead of the Seoul Superintendent of Education by-election. Former Seoul Superintendent of Education Gwak Nohyeon, a leading progressive candidate, was eliminated, and some candidates have even declared independent runs. Both conservative and progressive sides plan to select a unified candidate on the 25th.
The Seoul Democratic Progressive Education Superintendent Promotion Committee (Promotion Committee), the progressive camp's unification body, announced in a press release on the 22nd that "after the Promotion Committee and candidates finalized the voting results, candidates Kang Sinman, Jeong Geunsik, and Hong Jenam were selected as the subjects of the public opinion poll."
According to the Promotion Committee, a primary vote was conducted from 9 a.m. on the 21st to 6 p.m. on the 22nd among 9,100 promotion committee members, resulting in three candidates passing the primary. Former Superintendent Gwak and former Seoul Education Commissioner Ahn Seungmun were eliminated. The Promotion Committee plans to announce the final unified candidate at 8 p.m. on the 25th by reflecting the results of the first promotion committee vote and the second public opinion poll equally (50-50).
Notably, this primary saw an upset in the election landscape due to the elimination of former Superintendent Gwak, a leading progressive candidate. It is interpreted that the controversy over Gwak’s morality influenced the voting. In the 2010 superintendent election, Gwak was convicted by the Supreme Court in 2012 for giving 200 million KRW in bribes to an opposing candidate, resulting in the loss of his superintendent position. Although the Central Election Commission required him to return 3.52 billion KRW in election expenses reimbursed from the national treasury, Gwak did not return about 3 billion KRW, which intensified the controversy.
The primary rule based on the two-votes-per-person system is also cited as a cause of defeat. The two-votes-per-person system allows one promotion committee member to vote for two candidates. Previously, the Promotion Committee proposed this system to the primary candidates to prevent concentration on leading candidates, and it was finalized after opposition among candidates. A Promotion Committee official explained the primary process, saying, "There was a lot of positive response because the two-votes-per-person system allowed people to choose diversely," and added, "It created a situation where strategic voting in various forms became possible."
However, the final unification of the progressive camp may fail as former Seoul Digital University President Kim Jaehong, former Ewha Womans University Professor Cho Gisuk, Chung-Ang University Creative Writing Professor Bang Hyunseok, and former Seoul Education Commissioner Choi Boseon have declared independent runs without participating in the unification.
The conservative camp’s unification body, the "Seoul Superintendent of Education Moderate Right-Wing Candidate Unification Committee" (Unification Committee), completed a public opinion poll on the 21st targeting three candidates: former Hannara Party lawmaker Jo Jeonhyuk, former Korea Teachers' Union Chairman Ahn Yangok, and Korea University Education Department Professor Hong Hujoh. The Unification Committee plans to announce the final results at 11 a.m. on the 25th.
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