[Friday Story] Non-educational Superintendent Election

19 Days Until Nationwide Provincial Education Superintendent Elections
Holding Personnel and Financial Authority but Lacking Checks and Balances

Employees are working at the Election Comprehensive Situation Room of the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 12 days before the 8th nationwide local elections, which are 20 days away. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The election to choose the superintendents of education for 17 metropolitan and provincial cities is just 19 days away. Superintendents hold the education finances and personnel authority of local governments and execute education policies that influence school environments for four years. Depending on who becomes superintendent, education officials occupying key positions may be replaced, and projects receiving budget allocations may be overturned. Whether elected or appointed, seats of power shine brighter when they are scarce. South Korea has 17 superintendents of education. There are 300 members of the National Assembly. Even the Cabinet meeting, the highest decision-making body of the executive branch, includes only about 20 people, including the president, prime minister, and ministers of various departments. This is why they are called the "education vice presidents."

The authority of superintendents is absolute. They possess the power over local government education-related ordinances, budget formulation and submission, establishment and relocation of schools and educational institutions, and personnel authority over education officials. They can decide everything from school meal menus to the frequency and methods of exams. Their term is four years, renewable up to three terms, and their annual salary (as of 2022, 135.39 million KRW) is equal to that of local government heads. Since they can run for election without party nomination, the "incumbent premium" is high, and the position generally attracts little interest from citizens other than parents.

As the central government accelerates decentralization, the authority of superintendents will further increase. Counterbalancing this authority are the Ministry of Education, the National Assembly, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the councils of each metropolitan and provincial city. If the political orientations of the administration, legislature, and superintendent align, these checks and balances become virtually ineffective; if they differ, an uneasy coexistence ensues. The self-deprecating joke that "It's worse than a class president election where the candidate promises to make the class fun, create time for mutual compliments, and have snack days" does not sound like a joke at all.

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