Kim Seokjun Leads with 51.70% at 91% Vote Count
High Name Recognition and Progressive Camp Unification Drive Victory
In the Busan Metropolitan City Superintendent of Education by-election held on the 2nd, the election of Kim Seok-jun, the unified candidate from the progressive camp, was virtually confirmed.
As of 12:20 a.m. on the 3rd, with a vote counting rate of 91.23%, Kim received 307,384 votes (51.70%), significantly outpacing the second-place conservative candidate Jeong Seung-yoon, who received 236,428 votes (39.76%). Conservative candidate Choi Yoon-hong obtained 50,716 votes (8.53%).
Since the vote count was tallied at 9 p.m. the previous day, Kim maintained the top position with around 65% of the votes. As his victory became likely, he stated, "Today's victory is not a personal win for me," adding, "It is the great victory of the citizens who made a wise choice to protect democracy and Busan education."
In the Busan education community, Kim's victory was attributed to his higher name recognition compared to other candidates, having served as the re-elected superintendent of education for eight years from July 2014 to June 2022.
Additionally, the decision of former Busan National University President Cha Jeong-in, who was a preliminary candidate, to withdraw from the race and allow Kim to run as the unified candidate of the progressive camp also appeared to have a positive effect.
Kim pledged ▲ full support for private kindergarten tuition fees ▲ 300,000 KRW support for elementary school entrance preparation funds ▲ education without learning gaps ▲ support for school transportation vehicles.
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