Former Leaders of Gyeongnam Teachers' Associations Declare Support for Kwon Sungi

"Restoring Teachers' Authority and Strengthening Basic Academic Skills
The Right Person to Bridge the Educational Gap with the Seoul Metropolitan Area"

Supporters of Former Candidate Kim Sangkwon in Geoje
Announce Statement of Support for Candidate Kwon Sungi

On May 26, former leaders of teachers' organizations in the Gyeongnam region held a press conference at the Jinju City Hall briefing room, officially declaring their support for Kwon Sungi, candidate for Gyeongsangnam-do Superintendent of Education.

An Yangok, former president of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, Kang Dongryul, former president of the Gyeongsangnam-do Teachers' Association, and Shim Gwangbo, another former president of the Gyeongsangnam-do Teachers' Association, stated, "Education in Gyeongnam is now facing complex challenges such as infringement of teachers' rights, contraction of educational activities, decline in basic academic skills, and a crisis in local education due to population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area." They added, "We believe that candidate Kwon Sungi possesses the capability and vision to address these critical issues of our time."

Former leaders of teacher organizations in the Gyeongnam region are declaring their support for candidate Kwon Soon-ki at the briefing room of Jinju City Hall. [Photo by Former Leaders of Teacher Organizations in the Gyeongnam Region]

In their statement of support, they emphasized the need to restore teachers' authority, noting, "Teachers are finding it difficult to focus on their core educational activities due to the burdens of student guidance and administrative complaints." They also pointed out, "The decline in students' basic academic skills is an urgent issue that can no longer be postponed," stressing the importance of restoring the fundamentals of public education.

They especially noted, "As the concentration of population in the Seoul metropolitan area intensifies, excellent students and parents are leaving the region, and local areas are losing vitality in a vicious cycle involving education, industry, and talent." They asserted, "Now, Gyeongnam education needs not just to maintain the status quo, but a new transformation to protect the region's future."

They evaluated, "Candidate Kwon Sungi is the right person to create schools where teachers are respected and can dedicate themselves to education, provide education that takes responsibility for the basic academic skills of every student, and offer educational opportunities in Gyeongnam that rival those in the Seoul metropolitan area."

The former leaders of teachers' organizations declared, "We believe that candidate Kwon Sungi is the most suitable person to bring about change and innovation in Gyeongnam education, and to create new hope for local education by restoring teachers' authority, strengthening basic academic skills, and closing the educational gap with the Seoul metropolitan area."

Meanwhile, earlier that morning, at Kwon Sungi's campaign office in Geoje, about 30 supporters who had previously backed preliminary candidate Kim Sangkwon attended and announced a statement of support for Kwon Sungi.

They assessed, "Candidate Kwon has abundant experience and significant achievements in Gyeongnam education, making him the right person to lead the advancement of education in the region, which has lagged behind."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.