Direct Voting for Local Educational Heads Wastes Tax Money

Residents in Ulsan City, South Gyeongsang Province, North Chungcheong Province and Jeju Province will cast ballots to select their superintendents as well as the president of South Korea on December 19.

Most local voters, however, are not aware of their local elections. They do not know who the candidates are, what they are promising, and whether or not they can really choose the educational heads themselves. Therefore, experts worry that voters will cast ill-informed votes.

Rumors are circulating that someone who is assigned the number that the presidential front-runner is assigned will get the vote. This year, people get to choose their own local heads of school districts. But most are not aware of this. As a result, experts are pointing out the need to revamp the system as soon as possible.

Forgotten School District Chief Elections–

Last December, the national legislative body amended the Local School Administration Act to allow direct election of school district superintendents. Previously, electoral colleges selected them. To better realize grassroots democracy in education, the National Assembly amended the law.

Some localities already hold such elections. But only a handful of voters showed up at poll booths recently, raising the serious concern that the elected are not empowered to represent the majority of their local voters.

For example, Busan City selected its educational head on February 14 by vote for the first time ever. Only 15.3% of Busan’s 2.8 million eligible voters, or 437,226 voters, cast ballots.

On December 19, when the presidential election takes place, Ulsan and the three other localities will hold elections to choose their local educational heads as well. But local residents are not showing much interest. A local TV station in North Chungcheong Province conducted a survey recently to find out how many local residents are aware of the upcoming local election. 65% of the respondents said that they do not know of the direct vote system or any school superintendent candidates running in the election.

The local elections in those areas will take place along with the national presidential election. Therefore, a large number of voters will show up at the polling booths. Despite the expected high turnout, it is feared that few will cast informed votes.

Kim Byung-woo, a member on the Board of Education of North Chungcheong, confirmed this concern, saying, “Blaming voters for their indifference gets us nowhere. We have to help them understand the system. We can use diverse vehicles such as text messages and e-mails.”

More Tax Money to Hold Elections –

The regional election commission of N. Chungcheong informed its school district administration that it needs 7.88 billion won to prepare for the local election. Back in 2003 when the electoral college chose the educational head, it cost the provincial government only 235 million won. This time around, it cost the government 33.5 times more.

In addition, the regions have to pay an aggregate total of 25.4 billion won in fees to the election commission. Previously, they paid 774 million won.

A candidate is allowed to spend somewhere between 400 million to 1.6 billion won on campaigning. A candidate in North Chungcheong Province, for example, has to deposit 50 million won and can spend up to 1.175 billion won. In Busan, an average candidate spent 720 million won.

The eye-popping figures have shocked local authorities as well as the candidates themselves.

Nam Cheol-woo, a representative of a school administration watchdog group in N. Chungcheong, pointed out, “We could have spent the money much better than that. We could have built more schools or purchased more instruments to improve educational quality.”

Outcry for a Renovation–

Faced with the problems, more and more people want the system revamped.

Rep. Lee Si-jong, for example, introduced a bill to the National Assembly to restore the election system to the electoral college, citing the numerous problems inherent in a direct-voting system.

The ruling party legislator explained, “What is going on now has nothing to do with grassroots educational democracy. Candidates care more about how they can let the voters know about them than improving educational quality.”

North Chungcheong educational board member Kim also said, “It’s a waste of money and it’s inefficient. We need an effective and practical alternative that allows only teachers and parents to cast their ballots.”

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