Seoul Superintendent of Education by-election approaches tomorrow

[Anchor]

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education by-election will be held tomorrow (10.16).

The candidates conducted their final street campaigns around the city of Seoul.

Reporter Park Min-kyung has the story.

[Report]

The conservative single candidate Cho Jun-hyuk appeals for votes while greeting people.

He criticized the past 10 years of education in Seoul as a "failure of the left."

[Cho Jun-hyuk/Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Candidate: "Seoul's education has been ruined beyond repair. Academic performance has plummeted, and teachers' rights have collapsed. I, Cho Jun-hyuk, will normalize education in Seoul...."]

He promised to strengthen academic performance by reinstating regular exams and allowing advanced learning in after-school programs.

The progressive single candidate Jung Keun-sik emphasized that he would support education that allows children to pursue what they want, continuing the legacy of the previous progressive education superintendent.

[Jung Keun-sik/Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Candidate: "Please choose Jung Keun-sik. I will provide education that gives hope to everyone. I will instill dreams in our students and fulfillment in our teachers...."]

He pledged to create a so-called 'Learning Diagnosis and Healing Center' in collaboration with the education office and universities to ensure basic academic skills and strengthen history education.

The conservative candidate Yoon Ho-sang, who promised to establish a 24-hour emergency care system, also appealed for support.

[Yoon Ho-sang/Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Candidate: "We must save our children. We must protect our children. Pure educator Yoon Ho-sang, to change Seoul's education and to change education in South Korea...."]

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, which oversees an annual budget exceeding 11 trillion won and 800,000 students, has a significant impact on education in our country.

With the early voting rate recording the lowest since the system's introduction at 8.28%, and the overall voting rate expected to be low, the outcome is likely to depend on the mobilization of active supporters from both camps.

This is KBS News, Park Min-kyung.