Jung Geun-sik projected to win second term as Seoul education chief: exit polls

Liberal candidate Jung Geun-sik was projected to win Seoul’s education superintendent race Wednesday, exit polls showed, securing a second term as head of the city’s education office.

Polls closed at 6 p.m., with exit polls giving Jung 39 percent of the vote, ahead of conservative candidate Cho Chun-hyuk, who received 21.2 percent.

The exit polls were conducted by Korea’s three major broadcasters, KBS, MBC and SBS, at 595 polling stations nationwide. They surveyed every fifth voter who cast a ballot on Election Day.

If the exit polls hold, Jung’s projected victory is expected to reignite criticism of the conservative bloc’s failure to field a unified candidate. Four conservative-leaning candidates ran for the post, splitting the vote in a race where their combined support appeared to outpace Jung’s share.

During his campaign, Jung vowed to continue major projects launched in his first term, while also pledging to address issues such as AI and digital education, student mental health, teachers’ rights, and student rights.

The former sociologist and professor at Seoul National University also promised to expand support for students with multicultural backgrounds. His pledges included operating trilingual schools using Korean, English and Mandarin Chinese in districts with large migrant-background student populations.

Jung also pledged to open a second Seoul Migrant-Background Student Support Center in northern Seoul, introduce translation and interpretation services, develop Korean-language textbooks tailored to different parts of Seoul, provide additional support for schools in areas with large migrant-background populations, and expand Korean preparatory schools.

The progressive bloc was projected to win nine of the 16 education superintendent seats nationwide, according to exit polls.

In Gyeonggi Province, progressive-leaning candidate Ahn Min-seok was projected to defeat incumbent superintendent Yim Tae-hee, with Ahn receiving 58.2 percent of the vote and Yim receiving 41.8 percent.

Ahn is a former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and professor at Myongji University.

Progressive-leaning candidates led by a significant margin in exit polls in nine regions, including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Ulsan, Gyeonggi Province, Gwangju-South Jeolla Province, North Jeolla Province, South Chungcheong Province and Gangwon Province.

Conservative candidates were projected to lead in three regions: Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province.

Four regions — Sejong, Jeju Island, North Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province — were considered closely contested races, with liberal candidates leading by narrow margins, according to exit polls.

In Sejong, liberal candidate Lim Jeon-soo held the slimmest lead, polling at 35.1 percent, just 2.6 percentage points ahead of conservative candidate Kang Mi-ae, who received 32.5 percent.

In Incheon, exit polls showed liberal-leaning candidate Do Seong-hoon leading with 37.1 percent, ahead of center-conservative candidate Lee Dae-hyung by a small margin of 4.4 percentage points.

In South Gyeongsang Province, liberal candidate Song Young-gi edged ahead of conservative candidate Kwon Soon-ki by 3.5 percentage points, with 42.2 percent and 38.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, on Jeju Island, liberal candidate Ko Eui-sook narrowly overtook conservative incumbent superintendent Kim Kwang-soo in the exit polls, with Ko receiving 45.1 percent and Kim 42 percent.

Experts caution that final results may differ from exit polls, particularly in education superintendent elections, where voter interest tends to be low, and candidates do not officially run under political party banners.

Voting was also delayed in parts of Songpa-gu, Seoul, after some polling stations experienced a ballot shortage. Votes cast by those who voted late, as well as those who participated in early voting on Friday and Saturday, were not factored into the exit polls.

seungku99@heraldcorp.com