Only Jo Jeon-hyeok Invited to Seoul Election Commission Forum
Election Commission: "Only One Candidate Meets Invitation Criteria"
Jung Geun-sik, a progressive candidate running in the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education by-election, announced on the 4th that he would take legal action, calling it a "biased election," after only his opponent Cho Jeon-hyeok was invited to the KBS candidate invitation TV debate. Jung's campaign expressed strong regret and visited KBS to file a protest.
On the morning of the same day, Jung held a press conference in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "Immediately withdraw the unfair one-on-one debate with Cho Jeon-hyeok," conveying his position.
Among the four candidates running in this by-election, only Cho's attendance was confirmed for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education candidate debate hosted by the Seoul Election Commission and KBS. Candidates Choi Bo-seon, Yoon Ho-sang, and Jung himself did not meet the invitation criteria. To be invited to debates or forums hosted by the Election Commission, candidates must have an average support rate of 5% or higher based on public opinion polls conducted and announced by media organizations (terrestrial TV, comprehensive programming channels, nationwide daily newspapers), or have received 10% or more of the vote in elections within the last four years. Since there were no public opinion polls conducted and announced by media organizations as of the 2nd, only Cho, who received 23.49% of the vote in the 2022 Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education election, was eligible for invitation.
In response, the Jung Geun-sik Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Unified Election Countermeasures Committee (hereafter Jung Geun-sik Campaign Committee) visited KBS to protest. The committee raised clear concerns about unfairness in the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education candidate invitation debate hosted by the Election Commission and pointed out that KBS, as a public broadcaster, failed to guarantee election fairness and was encouraging a government-influenced election favorable to a specific candidate.
They also expressed strong concern and regret over biased questions and time allocation favoring a specific candidate during the debate. In particular, they strongly protested that KBS, by neglecting its role as a public broadcaster and providing an environment favorable to a particular political faction, distorts the people's choice and damages the fairness of the election, which is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, the debate will be held on the 6th at 5 p.m. in the KBS main building studio, where the "invited candidate" will engage in a Q&A session with the moderator regarding Seoul education issues. The other three candidates are classified as "non-invited candidates" and can only participate in the candidate debate held at the same place at 7 p.m. on the same day. Jung is reportedly still considering whether to attend the debate.
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