[6.3 Election] Four Candidates Register for Inaugural Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City Superintendent of Education

Daejung Kim, Jeongseon Lee, Jang Gwanho, and Sukyoung Kang Enter Main Race
A Four-Way Contest: Two Incumbents vs. Progressive and Reformist Candidates

Candidate registration for the inaugural Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Superintendent of Education election began on May 14, 2026. Four candidates—Daejung Kim, the current Superintendent of Jeonnam Office of Education; Jeongseon Lee, the current Superintendent of Gwangju Office of Education; Jang Gwanho, former head of the Jeonnam branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union; and Sukyoung Kang, former supervisor of the Jeonnam Office of Education—have completed their registrations and entered the main race.

At one point, there were as many as eight preliminary candidates, but after a consolidation process, the contest has narrowed to four. Choi Daewook, a preliminary candidate and former Vice President of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, withdrew his candidacy on May 12 and declared his support for Daejung Kim.

(From left) Sukyoung Kang, Jeongseon Lee, Daejung Kim, and Jang Gwanho have completed registration as candidates for the Integrated Special City Superintendent of Education and entered the main election.

Daejung Kim has put forward the completion of Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated education and the realization of a “K-Education Special City” as his core pledges. He stated, “Based on responsible education for every student throughout their life, I will design a new 100 years of education,” adding, “I will make Jeonnam and Gwangju the center of educational innovation in Korea.” He is leading in various opinion polls and has received declarations of support from around 10,000 figures across civil society sectors.

Jeongseon Lee previously achieved consolidation through a three-way opinion poll with Haeryong Kim, former Yeosu Superintendent of Education, and Dugap Ko, professor at Mokpo National University. His main campaign promises include fostering AI and digital-based tailored talent, and raising the educational standards of Jeonnam and Gwangju to a higher, more uniform level.

Jang Gwanho registered as the unified candidate of the democratic-progressive camp following a second round of consolidation. His campaign pledges include providing a basic annual education allowance of 1.2 million won and introducing a “one-strike out” policy for educational corruption.

Sukyoung Kang chose to run independently without participating in the unification process. Her pledges include a state-run five-day after-school care program, the nation’s first restructuring of the school system to introduce a fifth grade in elementary school and a fourth grade in middle school, and the establishment of Jeonnam-Gwangju-style educational broadcasting.

This election holds significant symbolic meaning, as it marks the first time in 40 years since the administrative separation of Gwangju and Jeonnam in 1986 that a single superintendent will be elected for both regions. The inaugural integrated superintendent will not only manage a combined metropolitan and provincial education office budget of approximately 720 billion won, but will also assume key powers from the Minister of Education, such as the authority to establish and operate private schools.

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