Apathy plagues Seoul education superintendent by-election as voters cast ballots

Voters headed to the polls to elect Seoul’s next education superintendent amid general disinterest in Wednesday's by-elections.

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday during the by-election to choose the city’s next education superintendent. [YONHAP]

Voters headed to the polls to elect Seoul’s next education superintendent amid general disinterest in Wednesday's by-elections.

The National Election Commission said the overall turnout was 21.5 percent as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, including votes from advance voting. Polling stations were open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Turnout on election day was expected to play a crucial role following a record-low turnout of 8.28 percent in early voting when 775,971 of the 8.64 million eligible residents in five election areas cast their votes during two days of early voting on Friday and Saturday.

Three candidates are vying for the position of Seoul’s education superintendent: Jung Keun-sik, a liberal candidate and honorary professor at Seoul National University; Cho Jun-hyuk, a conservative and former one-term lawmaker; and Yoon Ho-sang, a former school principal running as an independent but widely seen as right-leaning.

Under the Local Education Autonomy Act, candidates for education superintendent must remain unaffiliated with political parties to ensure the neutrality of the education system.

The race is largely expected to be a close contest between Jung and Cho.

The by-election for the city’s new education superintendent followed the dismissal of former liberal superintendent Cho Hee-yeon, who was removed from his position in August after receiving a suspended one-year-and-six-month prison sentence for abusing his authority in special recruitment procedures for former teachers.

Cho had served as superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for three consecutive terms since 2014. The newly elected candidate will complete Cho’s term, serving as the capital’s education superintendent from Thursday until June 30, 2026.

Left: Jung Keun-sik, the liberal candidate and honorary professor at Seoul National University, speaks at a campaign rally in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, on Tuesday. Right: Cho Jun-hyuk, the conservative candidate and former one-term lawmaker, greets residents at a campaign rally in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1, YONHAP]

Cho Jun-hyuk is the first unified conservative candidate in Seoul’s education superintendent election. His pledges include maintaining free high school education despite an anticipated 99 percent budget cut next year due to the repeal of the Local Education Subsidy Act. Cho also campaigned for preventive education on digital device use to tackle teenage gambling and has called for repealing the city’s Ordinance on Student Rights, arguing it has diminished teachers' authority.

The student human rights ordinances, first enacted in Gyeonggi in 2010 and later adopted by five other education offices, including Seoul, ban corporal punishment and protect students from discrimination based on religion, gender identity or socioeconomic status. The ordinances also grant students greater freedoms in areas like hairstyles and clothing choices.

Meanwhile, Jung promised to uphold his predecessor's policies, including the student rights ordinance. He opposes Cho’s plan to reintroduce written exams in elementary schools, which was proposed to boost public education, calling the proposal “regressive.” Instead, Jung advocates for performance-based assessments, which he says better measure student progress by focusing on learning processes rather than outcomes.

Independent candidate Yoon has focused his campaign on reducing the educational burden on parents, including expanding the Neulbom School program — an initiative that combines after-school care and education — to middle schools. The program is currently in place at around 2,700 elementary schools nationwide.

President Yoon Suk Yeol enters a polling booth in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Wednesday to cast his vote in the by-election for the city’s next education superintendent. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

In addition to the Seoul education office race, by-elections were held for four local government head positions in Incheon’s Ganghwa County, Busan’s Geumjeong District and the South Jeolla counties of Yeonggwang and Gokseong.

This marks the first gauge of public sentiment since the April general election, which led to a victory for the liberal Democratic Party.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]