Three of the 16 winners in the June 3 nationwide education superintendent elections reported criminal records including drunk driving and assault. Two of them are currently undergoing criminal trials, leaving open the possibility that they could lose their superintendent positions during their terms depending on the outcomes.
According to education circles Friday, the winners who reported criminal records are Cho Yong-sik, the Ulsan education superintendent-elect; Ahn Min-suk, the Gyeonggi education superintendent-elect; and Kim Seok-jun, the Busan education superintendent.
Cho reported three criminal records, the most among the winners. He was fined 2 million won for drunk driving in 2005, 1 million won for defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act in 2010, and 2 million won for obstruction of traffic in 2016. Cho explained that the defamation and traffic obstruction records arose during efforts to raise public awareness of teachers' rights violations and a campaign to legalize teachers' unions, and he apologized for the drunk driving record.
Ahn has two prior convictions. He was indicted on charges including assaulting a police officer during candlelight protests against U.S. beef imports in 2008, and a 3 million won fine was finalized in 2012. In 2020, he was fined 2 million won for violating the law on donations.
Ahn is also undergoing a separate criminal trial. He was indicted without detention in November 2023 on charges of making statements as if they were fact during a radio broadcast at the time of the 2016 state affairs scandal, regarding allegations that Choi Seo-won (formerly Choi Soon-sil) hid assets overseas, laundered money, and intervened in arms contracts.
In July last year, the first-trial court found him guilty only on remarks suggesting that Choi met with the chairman of a U.S. defense contractor to gain profit, and sentenced him to a 3 million won fine. Both Ahn and prosecutors appealed, and the second trial is currently underway.
Kim was fined 1.5 million won in 2011 on charges of obstruction of traffic and violating the law on assembly and demonstrations. He has been indicted and is undergoing a separate trial on charges including abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights in connection with the special hiring of teachers from the Busan branch of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers' Union.
In December last year, the first-trial court sentenced Kim to eight months in prison, suspended for two years. Both Kim and prosecutors appealed, citing reasons including inappropriate sentencing, and the second trial is currently underway.
The outcomes of the trials of Ahn and Kim could become variables in carrying out their terms. Under current law, elected public officials lose their positions if a sentence of imprisonment or heavier is finalized, even in criminal cases unrelated to violations of the Public Official Election Act.
