Kwon Soon-ki, a preliminary candidate for Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education, has proposed public debates and opinion poll-based unification to select a single conservative-moderate candidate.
Kwon held a press conference at the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education briefing room on Thursday, stating he was proposing a fair unification process that residents can trust.
The conservative-moderate camp has split into different factions, producing three candidates. The candidates subject to unification are Kwon Soon-ki from the "Conservative-Moderate Gyeongnam Education Superintendent Unification Alliance," Kim Sang-kwon from the "Pan-Conservative Education Superintendent Unification Promotion Committee," and Kim Seung-o from the "Gyeongnam Citizens' Council for Good Education Superintendent Candidate Nomination."
"Last September, conservative-moderate candidates were one team, sharing the purpose of the 'Conservative-Moderate Gyeongnam Education Superintendent Candidate Unification Alliance' and agreeing on unification," Kwon said. "However, we failed to overcome differences that arose during the unification process and could not achieve unity due to individual circumstances."
He added, "We have reached a point where we must quickly find a solution for unification beyond our conflicts. For the moderate-conservative camp to win, early unification that maximizes the unification effect is most important."
Kwon expressed agreement with candidate Kim Sang-kwon's recent remarks on the necessity of unification, proposing, "Let us hold public debates to thoroughly vet policies, educational philosophy, qualifications and everything else, so we can complete unification by the 20th if possible, or by the 25th at the latest."
"We must select a polling organization with assured fairness and credibility and conduct surveys based on general election competitiveness rather than reverse selection," he stressed. "I will put everything aside and responsibly complete the unification."
There are currently six candidates for Gyeongnam Superintendent of Education. In addition to the three from the conservative-moderate camp, there are Song Young-ki, the unified candidate of the progressive "Gyeongnam Citizens' Solidarity for a Good Education Superintendent"; Kim Jun-sik, who withdrew from the progressive solidarity's unification process; and Oh In-tae, another progressive-leaning candidate.