Novelist Bang Hyun-seok Officially Runs for Seoul Superintendent of Education... Solo Protest in Front of the Presidential Office

"Register as the First Official Candidate"
Emphasizing the Historical War with the Yoon Administration
Protest Letter Delivered to the Presidential Office in the Afternoon

With two days left until the registration deadline for candidates in the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent election, Bang Hyun-seok, author of the novel "Beomdo" and professor in the Creative Writing Department at Chung-Ang University, has officially announced his candidacy.

On the 24th, Bang told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "I plan to register as a preliminary candidate this afternoon," adding, "Although the preliminary registration is late, I intend to be the first to register during the official candidate registration period (26th-27th)."

Regarding the delay in his decision to run, he explained, "I was shocked to see that candidates were required to register and unify within six days after former Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon was stripped of his position by a court ruling," and added, "Instead of rushing into the election, there needed to be time to protest the injustice together and consider how the election should be conducted."

He also emphasized the need for another unification organization. He said, "We must create a final pan-democratic unified candidate that includes candidates like myself who have not had the opportunity, those who felt issues with the unification process and withdrew, and candidates already participating in the unification process," and added, "Therefore, I proposed a new meeting for the final pan-democratic unification."

[Photo by Bang Hyun-seok Camp]

The day before, Bang held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, proposing the formation of a pan-democratic unification council and argued, "We must select a candidate representing the pan-democratic camp through policy debates with progressive YouTube subscribers and voting by a citizen jury."

He added, "For unification to succeed, the procedures must be legitimate and qualifications must be verified," emphasizing, "Citizen participation and the right to know must be guaranteed."

Currently, three candidates from the progressive camp?former Seoul Digital University President Kim Jae-hong, former Ewha Womans University Professor Cho Ki-sook, and former Seoul City Education Council member Choi Bo-seon?have declared their candidacy independently without participating in the unification organization '2024 Seoul Democratic Progressive Education Superintendent Promotion Committee' (Promotion Committee).

Earlier, on the 13th, Bang declared his candidacy under the slogan "A Republic of Korea Proud Before History and Truth," stating, "We will surely win the historical war against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration." On the same day at 2 p.m., he plans to deliver a protest letter to the Presidential Office and conduct a solo demonstration.