Superintendent election held amid indifference...a straight-line theory of uselessness

Jeong Geun-sik won the by-election with 50.24% of the vote in the by-election
Turnout 23.48%…8 out of 10 people don't vote
Controversy over representation...Seoul Metropolitan Superintendent of Education ElectionBad candidate verification device..."Blind election." I'm getting stigmatized.

[Anchor]
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education election had the lowest turnout since the introduction of the direct election system in 2008, with a total turnout of only 23%.

As the election to select education managers for each city and province has turned into a battle for the camp, some say that the direct system of superintendents itself should be repaired.

Reporter Baek Jong-gyu's report.

[Reporter]
In the by-election of the Seoul Superintendent of Education, the new superintendent, Jeong Geun-sik, won 50.24 percent of the vote.

I think I got a majority, but if you look at the overall turnout, things are different.

The final voter turnout for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education election is 23.48%, which means 8 out of 10 people did not vote at all.

There is bound to be a controversy over representation.

The head of education must maintain political neutrality, but in the end, it ended up in a battle between conservatives, progressives, and camps.

[Jung Geun-sik / Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (last 17th): I think I should think more carefully about the low participation rate and raise interest in Seoul education to Seoul citizens through communication..]

On top of that, the minimum candidate verification system was also poor, resulting in the stigma of a "blind election."

There was only one broadcast debate where all the candidates participated.

Some point out that the election system should be repaired because it cost 56.5 billion won to hold an election but failed to properly collect public opinion.

In a survey conducted by the Seoul Federation of Teachers' Associations, 75% of Seoul teachers said, "The current direct system of superintendents should be abolished or supplemented."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also argued on social media that it is necessary to discuss the running mate system in which the provincial governor and the superintendent of education run jointly, and conservative candidate Cho Jeon-hyuk, who was eliminated from the election, expressed the same opinion.

[Cho Jeon-hyuk / Conservative candidate for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (last 10th): Indeed, the direct election of the superintendent is a hypocritical election. The direct system of superintendents is advantageous to a small number of people who are united.]

However, current superintendents argue that while maintaining the direct election system, the election public system should be strengthened to provide a mechanism for policy verification.

Changing the direct system of superintendents, which has been in place for 16 years, is not just a matter of changing election laws.

It is pointed out that it is time for sufficient social discussions to improve as children's futures depend.

I'm BAEK JONG KYU of YTN.


Video editing: Ahn Hong-hyun
Design: Lee Ga-eun