Ex-lawmaker Cho picked as single conservative candidate for Seoul’s education chief

Cho Jun-hyuk, a former lawmaker of the predecessor of the ruling People Power Party, was chosen Wednesday as the conservative bloc's single candidate for the Oct. 16 by-election for Seoul's education chief. The conservative bloc's candidacy merger committee said Cho defeated two other right-leaning candidates in a public opinion poll conducted last Saturday. Cho Jun-hyuk speaks in a news conference in Seoul on Sept. 25, 2024, after being elected as the conservative bloc's single candidate for Seoul's education chief. (Yonhap) Cho Jun-hyuk speaks in a news conference in Seoul on Sept. 25, 2024, after being elected as the conservative bloc's single candidate for Seoul's education chief. (Yonhap) Educator Ahn Yang-ok and Korea University professor Hong Hoo-jo previously raised objections to the method of electing a single conservative candidate but accepted the results of the opinion poll, committee officials said. The post of the superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education went up for gra bs when former left-leaning superintendent Cho Hee-yeon was stripped of his post last month after the Supreme Court confirmed a suspended prison sentence for him over abuse of power charges in connection with the reinstatement of dismissed teachers. Cho was elected to the National Assembly in 2008 but unsuccessfully ran for the Seoul education chief in 2022. He has promised to help improve students' academic abilities and reduce their private education expenses. Meanwhile, the progressive bloc has narrowed down four liberal-leaning candidates to three, also through a public opinion poll, and plans to select its single candidate soon, though four other liberal candidates have been asking for additional contests to field a unified candidate in the by-election. Candidates are required to register their candidacy with the municipal election committee between Thursday and Friday. Source: Yonhap News Agency