3 Days Until Seoul Superintendent of Education Candidate Registration... Conservative Unification in Turmoil Again

Decision Pending on Park Sun-young and Jo Jeon-hyeok's Unification Method
Possible n-th Round Unification with Candidate Jo Young-dal Also

On the 8th, Park Seon-young, Lee Joo-ho, and Jo Jeon-hyeok, preliminary candidates, held a press conference after agreeing to a three-way unification in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

With only three days left until the registration deadline for the Seoul Superintendent of Education election candidates, the unification of candidates still has a long way to go. Although conservative and moderate camp preliminary candidates Park Seon-young and Jo Jeon-hyeok have agreed to unify, they have not decided on the method, and the ‘n-th round unification’ with preliminary candidate Jo Young-dal remains a hurdle.

On the 8th, preliminary candidates Park Seon-young and Jo Jeon-hyeok agreed to a three-way unification including preliminary candidate Lee Ju-ho and decided to proceed with practical consultations. Initially, when Lee Ju-ho and Park Seon-young agreed to unify, the decision was to be made by 100% public opinion polling, but as the unification narrowed down to Park and Jo, the method of unification has returned to square one.

Considering the schedule to finalize the candidate within this week, the two candidates stated that they would keep various possibilities open, including confirming the candidate through negotiations as well as public opinion polls. Preliminary candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok said, "I am not opposed to the 100% public opinion poll method, but above all, I think it is best to proceed with a reasonable plan. We will consider various options, but the decision may change depending on the situation. First, I plan to meet with candidate Park to hear his opinions and see how far concessions can be made before deciding."

Preliminary candidate Park Seon-young also expressed that she would not insist solely on the 100% public opinion poll method for unification. A representative from Park’s camp explained, "We think 100% public opinion polling is the most realistic option, but we plan to discuss keeping all possibilities open. Analyzing based on existing public opinion polls might be one of the options."

The ‘n-th round unification’ with preliminary candidate Jo Young-dal, who is not participating in the re-unification, also remains. Preliminary candidate Jo Young-dal proposed a ‘one-shot unification’ after the unification between the two candidates. He suggested pursuing unification through one method such as candidate withdrawal, acceptance of decision by a third party, or public opinion polling, with the condition of policy verification through a public debate.

Preliminary candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok said, "I think it is okay to unify one-on-one simultaneously, but I hope (preliminary candidate Jo Young-dal) does not engage in negative campaigning. Mutual respect is necessary to believe in the sincerity of unification." Park’s camp stated, "We think unifying with candidate Jo Jeon-hyeok is the priority, and we will soon organize and announce our position regarding candidate Jo Young-dal’s opinion."

In the progressive camp, it was decided not to hold a unification primary. The ‘2022 Our All Seoul Superintendent of Education Promotion Committee,’ a gathering of progressive civic groups, will hold a policy debate on the 13th. Through debates and other events, policy alliances or agreements are expected to be formed. A representative from candidate Cho Hee-yeon’s camp said, "Given the schedule, it seems difficult to go through a unification process, and we believe that unification through policy alliance is the most desirable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.