Kim Haeryong Urges Jeonnam Nomination Committee to Halt Single Candidate Nomination for Integrated Superintendent Election

Gim Haeryong, prospective candidate for the Superintendent of Education of Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan Integrated City. Provided by candidate

The unified candidate committee for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Superintendent of Education election, established by Jeonnam social and labor organizations to challenge the current Jeonnam Superintendent Kim Daejung, is experiencing ongoing conflicts among the candidates.

Kim Haeryong, a prospective candidate for the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Superintendent of Education election, on March 16 called on the Jeonnam Nomination Committee, which had been working to unify candidates among Jeonnam region aspirants, to "stop the unilateral nomination of a single candidate."

On the same day, during a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, candidate Kim stressed, "The Jeonnam Nomination Committee's plan to conduct a for-or-against vote only for candidate Jang Kwanho is an unacceptable violation of democratic procedures and legitimacy."

He claimed, "At the initial stage, the unification was pursued based on a method that reflected 90% public opinion polls and 10% electoral college, but controversy arose when candidate Jang’s side ignored the previous agreement and proposed a different calculation method."

He continued, "It is hard to accept that the Jeonnam Nomination Committee unilaterally canceled debate schedules and demanded only acceptance of the mediation plan without seeking the opinions of the candidates." He added, "We are considering all possible legal actions, including an injunction application, and I will remain in the superintendent election until the end."

The candidate unification efforts among local aspirants in Jeonnam, which were launched by Jeonnam social and labor organizations through the formation of a nomination committee to challenge incumbent Superintendent Kim Daejung’s bid for re-election, initially appeared to involve four to five candidates. However, during discussions about the unification method, only two prospective candidates remained: Kim Haeryong, former Yeosu Superintendent of Education, and Jang Kwanho, former Jeonnam branch chief of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union. Even these two failed to agree on the nomination process, causing the effort to collapse on March 12.

The nomination committee stated, "Former Superintendent Kim’s rejection of the mediation plan prevented us from pursuing candidate unification," and is currently considering whether to conduct a for-or-against vote for the sole nomination of candidate Jang Kwanho.

If the general assembly of organizations participating in the nomination committee decides to hold a for-or-against vote for the single candidate nomination, approximately 14,000 nomination committee members will cast their votes. Depending on the results, either the candidate nominated by the committee will be selected, or candidates will run as individuals.

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