Busan Superintendent By-election Countdown: Two-way or Three-way Race?

Jeong Seungyun and Choi Yunhong Begin Working-Level Talks for Conservative Unification
Kim Seokjun Gains Endorsement from Cha Jeongin, Who Withdrew from the Race

The final candidates representing the conservative and progressive camps for the April 2 Busan Superintendent of Education by-election are being narrowed down.

In the moderate-progressive camp, former Busan National University President Cha Jeongin withdrew his candidacy the previous day, consolidating support behind preliminary candidate Kim Seokjun. On the afternoon of the 13th, former President Cha visited Kim's campaign office to officially announce his support.

At Kim's campaign office, Cha declared in front of Kim's supporters, "The nation is facing a grave crisis," and criticized, "In this situation, someone who defends martial law and insurrection, and shouts 'With Yoon,' is running for superintendent, causing Busan citizens to feel a sense of shame."

He continued, "Candidate Kim Seokjun, who has both experience and capability as superintendent, must win to prevent the regression of Busan's education," adding, "I will fully support Kim's victory until the end."

Kim Seokjun pledged, "I will surely win and restore normalcy to Busan's education to repay President Cha's difficult decision."

Jeong Seungyun, who was selected as the unified candidate for the moderate-conservative camp, has begun working-level negotiations for unification with Choi Yunhong's team, raising the banner for a conservative victory. Initially excluded from the five-way unification process, Choi's team has now found common ground with Jeong's side and entered final coordination.

Jeong Seungyun's team explained that on the afternoon of the 13th in Seomyeon, Busan, they held a 2-on-2 working-level meeting with Choi Yunhong's team regarding candidate unification.

Both sides believe that a complete unification of the moderate-conservative camp is essential for victory in the Busan Superintendent of Education election.

They agreed that unification through public opinion polls would be difficult due to time constraints, and decided to continue discussions on reliable and reasonable unification rules and methods.

The final countdown has begun to determine whether the election will be a one-on-one contest between conservative and progressive candidates, or a three-way race with two conservatives and one progressive.

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education

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