"Pre-Campaigning" vs "Distortion of Lawful Administration"... Jeonnam Office of Education and KTU Clash Over Education Vision Committee

KTU: "Using Schools to Promote the Superintendent... Forming a Loyalist Organization"

Office of Education: "Legitimate Process Verified by Election Commission... Baseless Claims and Distortion"

Amid allegations of election interference raised by the Jeonnam branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) regarding the public recruitment of members for the tentatively named "Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City Education Vision Committee," currently being promoted by the Jeonnam Office of Education, the office has directly refuted the claims, stating that "legitimate and lawful administrative procedures are being seriously distorted through a political frame."

On March 12, the Jeonnam branch of the KTU released a statement criticizing the committee recruitment process and related promotional materials, calling them "pre-campaigning" and "an attempt to form a loyalist organization for the incumbent superintendent."

In response, the Jeonnam Office of Education immediately issued a clarification, stating, "The KTU's claims are completely unfounded. They are unjustly distorting proper educational administration, which is designed to ensure public participation in policymaking, as election interference."

◆KTU Jeonnam Branch: "Promotional Gimmick Using School Network... Effectively a Loyalist Organization for the Superintendent"

The KTU argued that the current committee recruitment undermines the political neutrality of educational administration. Specifically, they took issue with promotional materials that included the phrase "A Future Education Special City Created Together with Superintendent Kim Daejung," and that these materials were distributed through official school channels such as newsletters and parent notices.

The KTU claimed, "Using the school system to promote the vision of the incumbent superintendent with elections imminent is a political act," and strongly urged ▲an immediate investigation by the election commission into the entire process ▲an immediate halt to promotions utilizing school resources ▲disciplinary action against those responsible.

◆Jeonnam Office of Education: "A Legitimate Forum for Public Discussion... Tarnished by Unverified Information"

On the other hand, the Jeonnam Office of Education reiterated that the project is a genuine forum for collecting a wide range of public opinions in preparation for the launch of the Integrated Metropolitan City, and countered that rigorous checks had been put in place to fully prevent any possibility of violating election laws.

The office stated, "For the entire process, including committee formation, promotional methods, and recruitment procedures, we requested prior review both by phone and official documents from the Jeonnam Election Commission," emphasizing, "The process was carried out only after receiving the commission's clear legal interpretation and confirmation that there were no legal violations."

With regard to the so-called "superintendent promotion" materials criticized by the KTU, the office clarified, "The controversial card news was never produced or officially distributed by the Jeonnam Office of Education," adding, "Citing unverified, anonymous materials circulated externally as grounds to allege public institution election interference is a clear misrepresentation and distortion."

The office further asserted that only strictly neutral policy information was provided through official channels.

Regarding the use of school newsletters and other communications for promotion, the office explained, "This is the most basic administrative procedure to inform and ensure parental and community participation in education policy," expressing deep concern over interpreting such actions in a political light.

An official from the Jeonnam Office of Education said, "We deeply regret that legitimate educational administration, aimed at preparing for the future of education in Jeonnam through collecting diverse on-site opinions, is being unjustly amplified and distorted into a political controversy ahead of the election. We will continue to operate the committee transparently, strictly adhering to laws and procedures."

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