Key by-elections to be held alongside pres. election

The December presidential election is expanding in scale, with the by-election for the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education slated to be held around the same time with the termination of Kwak No-hyun.

Kwak automatically lost his post after the Supreme Court upheld his one-year prison sentence for bribing a rival candidate to drop out of the superintendent election.

Another by-election for the governorship of South Gyeongsang Province will also take place on the sidelines due to the resignation of Kim Doo-kwan, who failed to become a presidential candidate.

Judging that the two by-elections will significantly affect the presidential election, both the ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic United Party have begun trying to find "running mates" who can generate synergistic effects with their presidential candidates.

Political parties cannot directly intervene the election of a superintendent, but chances are high that the candidates for both president and superintendent will form so-called policy coalitions in a way to supports each other’s education policy.

Because Kwak has pursued policies reflecting a left-leaning progressive ideology, including free school lunches and an ordinance on student human rights, the right-wing conservative camp is aggressively gearing up to retake the superintendent post from liberals. This could mean the superintendent election could be the most intense in history and be fought over ideology.

Conservative candidates for Seoul superintendent include Lee Dae-yeong, Kwak`s deputy who is serving as acting superintendent, and Lee Gyu-seok, head of the school education assistance office at the Education, Science and Technology Ministry. Also likely to join the race are Nam Seung-hee, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s education planning bureau who ran in the 2010 superintendent election, and Kim Yeong-sook, former principal of Duksung Middle School.

Other potential candidates include Kim Gyeong-hoi, former vice superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education; Kim Jin-seong, co-head of the National Coalition for Public Education; Park Jeong-soo, professor at Ewha Womans University; Seo Jeong-hwa, principal of Hongik High School; Song Gwang-yong, former president of Seoul National University of Education; Song Ha-seong, professor at Kyunggi University; Lee Yeong-man, former principal of Kyunggi High School; Cho Byeok, chair professor of Dongguk University; Cho Yeong-dal, professor of Seoul National University; and Jin Dong-seop, chief of the Korea Education Development Institute.

For the liberal camp, Lee Soo-ho, former chief of the Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union, is considered a favorite. He held an event to commemorate the publication of his book Tuesday. Other potential runners include Song Soon-jae, chief of the Seoul Education Training Institute; Shin Yeong-bok, chair professor at Sungkonghoe University; Lee Soo-il, former chief of the Korea Teachers and Education Workers’ Union; Lee Bu-yeong, former member of the Seoul Metropolitan Education Committee; and Choi Hong-e, chairman of the education committee at the Seoul Metropolitan City Council.

The biggest variable for progressives is Cho Kook, a professor at Seoul National University. He has declined to run but many supporters have urged him to reconsider due to his high profile.

With Busan and South Gyeongsang Province merging as among the most contentious areas in the presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, former chairman of the Saenuri Party, and Park Wan-soo, mayor of Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, are considered leading candidates for governor of the province.

Potential candidates for the Democratic United Party have yet to be sorted out. For civic and social groups in the South Gyeongsang region, however, former Rep. Kwon Young-ghil, who bolted from the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party, is often cited as a potential candidate.

The Democratic United Party is also ready to consider "joining forces with Kwon" since he left the progressive party, which is under fire for election irregularities.

Other potential candidates for governor irrespective of their intentions include former Rep. Song Min-soon, a native of Masan; Kim Jo-won, president of the Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang) University of Science and Technology; and former lawmaker Chang Yeong-dal, chief of the South Gyeongsang chapter of the main opposition party.

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