Lim Tae-hee and Ahn Min-suk, candidates running for Gyeonggi Province Superintendent of Education, crisscrossed the province on Monday in an all-out campaign push, one day before the June 3 local elections.
Lim, the incumbent superintendent representing the conservative camp, and Ahn, representing the progressive camp, pressed on with a grueling schedule to win over last-minute voters while ramping up attacks against each other.
Lim focused his campaign schedule on southern Gyeonggi, including Suwon and Seongnam. In the morning, he met with citizens at Gwanggyo Jungang Station and the nearby cafe street to appeal for support, followed by intensive campaigning at Suwon Station and Pangyo Station in the afternoon. He wrapped up his 13-day official campaign at Migeum Station in Seongnam, his hometown.
Ahn also kept up a demanding schedule from early morning, moving between eastern and southern Gyeonggi. In the morning, he greeted commuters at Misa Station in Hanam before visiting Galmae Elementary School in Guri to meet students and parents, and attended an education policy roundtable in Yangpyeong. In the afternoon, he visited Icheon Gwango Traditional Market and Anseong Market to meet merchants and residents, then passed through Pyeongtaek before holding his final intensive rally in Suwon.
Tensions between the two camps continued on the final day of campaigning. In a press release, Lim's camp targeted Ahn's characterization of him as an "education politician," criticizing it as "a dangerous notion that seeks to drag political interests and outdated ideologies into school settings." The camp stressed, "Classrooms should not be spaces for political ideology but venues of education where children's futures grow," adding, "We will ensure that politics does not intervene in education."
Ahn fired back by raising questions about Lim's political career. "Lim served as the chief of the general situation headquarters for former President Yoon Suk-yeol's presidential campaign and as a special adviser to the presidential transition committee," Ahn said. "Voters must judge whether the future of Gyeonggi education can be entrusted to a figure who played a key role in the birth of that administration."
The Gyeonggi superintendent race has drawn particular attention among education chief elections nationwide. With candidates representing the conservative and progressive camps facing off, debate over political neutrality in education and the future direction of education has continued through the final stretch of the campaign. With both sides going all out to secure every last vote ahead of the campaign's end, the final outcome is expected to be determined only when ballot boxes are opened on Tuesday.
