Kim Dae-jung and Jang Seok-woong, Tense Standoff Over Conservative Support Allegations in Jeonnam Education Superintendent Race

Jang Seok-woong and Kim Dae-jung, preliminary candidates for Jeonnam Superintendent of Education, registered as candidates at the Jeonnam Election Commission on the morning of the 12th.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Kim Dae-jung and Jang Seok-woong, preliminary candidates for Jeonnam Superintendent of Education, engaged in a fierce battle of nerves over suspicions of support from the People Power Party from the very first day of candidate registration.

On the morning of the 12th, candidate Kim Dae-jung held a press conference at the Jeonnam Provincial Office of Education and stated, “Candidate Jang Seok-woong should stop spreading false information and slander, and the Election Commission should conduct a swift investigation.” He added, “After candidate Jang raised the suspicion, the party involved clarified through the media that it was not true, and the relevant educational organization also denied it, yet it was mentioned again in the TV debate held yesterday.”

Candidate Kim said, “Continuously repeating false claims is a clear case of spreading false information and defamation of a candidate.” He criticized, “According to election law, political parties cannot support superintendent candidates, and superintendent candidates must not represent political parties. However, as my support rate rises and the prospect of defeat grows, they are attempting negative campaigning by dragging in old ideological debates into the superintendent election and trying to paint a conservative color on me.”

In response, candidate Jang Seok-woong said, “If the Election Commission conducts an investigation, I would rather welcome it. The claim by Kim OO, chairman of the People Power Party Jeonnam Provincial Party, that the ‘Jeonnam Education Love Association’ group no longer exists is not true.” He asserted, “The Jeonnam Education Love Association band is still active, and Kim OO chairman has posted messages under his name as recently as this month.”

He continued, “After the press conference of the Jang Seok-woong campaign headquarters, all of Kim Dae-jung candidate’s election promotional posts, which used to be posted several times a day on the band, were deleted.” He emphasized, “It costs tens of millions of won to hang hundreds of banners across various places in Jeonnam, which cannot be done voluntarily by an individual or a small group.”

On the other hand, Kim Hwa-jin, chairman of the People Power Party Jeonnam Provincial Party, stated, “It is true that the ‘Jeonnam Education Love Association’ was disbanded due to conflicts among past members. However, the ‘band’ created at that time was not deleted and is being used as a simple communication space by various people including myself.” He added, “Many posts related not only to candidates Kim Dae-jung and Jang Seok-woong but also other candidates are posted on the band. I do not get involved in all those matters personally.”

Meanwhile, Chairman A of the ‘Jeonnam Education Love Association’ said, “Kim Hwa-jin resigned from membership after 2018. The band created by Chairman Kim was made arbitrarily without consultation and has nothing to do with us.” He did not hide his discomfort, saying, “It is unpleasant to associate the People Power Party with our members.”

He also countered, “Over the past four years, Jeonnam education has ranked last in both CSAT scores and integrity.” He added, “Candidate Jang Seok-woong’s claim that legally approved banners posted after confirmation with the Election Commission are illegal banners is also upsetting.”

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