The candidate registration for the re-election of the Busan superintendent of education, scheduled for April 2, will be held for two days starting from the 13th. This re-election is expected to be a three-way race with two candidates from the centrist and conservative bloc and one from the progressive bloc.
According to the Busan Election Commission, candidate registration for the Busan superintendent of education re-election will take place daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from today until the 14th.
Candidates who have completed their registration must submit their election posters to the commission by the 19th. The official election campaign can begin from the start date of the election period on the 20th.
The Busan superintendent of education re-election is expected to proceed as a three-way race. The progressive bloc's former Busan superintendent Kim Seok-jun submitted his candidate registration documents to the commission this morning. From the centrist and conservative bloc, former Vice Chair Jeong Seung-yun of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Acting Busan Superintendent Choi Yoon-hong have announced their intention to run.
However, there are also predictions that candidate unification may occur in the centrist and conservative bloc. Both candidates have expressed their willingness to engage in any form of meeting, discussion, or debate if necessary.
Meanwhile, this Busan superintendent of education re-election is being held following the Supreme Court's confirmation of the invalidation of the election of former Superintendent Ha Yun-soo, which was ruled in December last year. The former superintendent was prosecuted for establishing a forum that operated like an election office before the 2022 superintendent election and for spreading false information about educational qualifications. He was subsequently fined 7 million won by the first and second trials, and the Supreme Court confirmed the election invalidation in the appeal. The Education Autonomy Act invalidates an election if a candidate is sentenced to over 1 million won for a crime related to the elected office, similar to election law violations.