Campaign scenes of two candidates running for Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent. Following the candidate Yoon Ho-sang's explanation regarding the resignation confirmation, the issue of whether the candidate registration should be invalidated and the Election Commission's responsibility for candidate qualification review are emerging as key points. [Photo=Yonhap News]

The camp of Yoon Ho-sang, a candidate for Seoul Metropolitan Superintendent of Education, refuted the candidate qualification issue raised by the camp of candidate Cho Jon-hyuk by presenting a resignation confirmation letter, but the controversy is instead spreading to whether the candidate registration should be invalidated.

Candidate Yoon's camp claimed the fact of resignation as an editor, but did not disclose the original resignation letter, which is key evidence for determining the resignation timing under the Public Official Election Act.

According to the corporate registry, candidate Yoon is listed as an internal director of Eduin Plaza, and there were no records of disqualification. In this case, the issue is not simply whether he resigned as an editor.

The crucial point is 'whether Yoon resigned from his position as a publisher/manager of a media outlet, which is subject to resignation under the Public Official Election Act, 90 days before the election.'

Screen capture at 9:50 AM on June 8th. Marked as Hong Kyung-sik, Editor.

Screen capture at 10:23 AM on June 8th. The editor was changed back to Yoon Ho-sang. During the time candidate Cho Jon-hyuk was holding a press conference, the editor changed from Yoon Ho-sang to Hong Kyung-sik, and then back to Yoon Ho-sang.

Issue 1: Resignation Confirmation Letter, Not Original Resignation Letter

The camp of Seoul Metropolitan Superintendent of Education candidate Cho Jon-hyuk raised the issue of candidate qualification, stating that candidate Yoon held positions as an internal director and editor of a media-related corporation before running for election.

In a statement released on the 8th, candidate Yoon's camp refuted this, stating, "Candidate Yoon submitted his resignation as editor of Eduin News on January 31, 2026, his resignation was processed on the same day, and the resignation took effect on February 1."

Candidate Yoon's camp argued, based on a 'resignation processing confirmation' and a 'certificate of income,' that he "was not a regularly employed journalist and did not engage in editorial, reporting, or writing activities."

Regarding the continued designation as editor in the periodical registration ledger, they explained it as an 'administrative error by the company.'

However, this explanation does not resolve the core issues.

What candidate Yoon's camp disclosed is not the original resignation letter, but a resignation confirmation letter issued by the company. While this confirmation letter states that the resignation submission date and processing date were January 31, 2026, the confirmation letter itself was prepared and issued on June 8, 2026.

The problem is that under the Public Official Election Act, the key factor for determining the resignation timing is 'when the resignation letter was received,' not the date of the resignation processing confirmation or the company's explanation.

For candidate Yoon's camp to explain that the resignation actually took effect on January 31, they should have presented the original resignation letter received at that time, the receipt ledger, internal approval records, submission route, and documents submitted to the Election Commission at the time of candidate registration, rather than a confirmation letter issued later.

With only a resignation confirmation letter issued after the controversy arose, it is difficult to separately verify whether a resignation letter was actually received on January 31, and whether the confirmation letter was issued based on records from that time.

Corporate registry excerpt of Eduin Plaza viewed on June 4th.

Issue 2: No Disqualification Record for Internal Director in Corporate Registry

An even bigger issue is the corporate registry.

According to the full corporate registry certificate confirmed by Hani Ilbo, candidate Yoon is listed as an internal director of Eduin Plaza Co., Ltd. There are no records of disqualification regarding candidate Yoon's position as an internal director in the registry.

Article 53, Paragraph 1, Item 8 of the Public Official Election Act includes those who publish or manage newspapers, internet newspapers, periodicals, or broadcasting businesses, and journalists who are regularly employed by them and are engaged in editorial, production, reporting, writing, or broadcasting activities as subjects of resignation.

In other words, the law distinguishes between 'those who publish/manage' and 'those who are regularly employed and engaged in reporting activities.'

Candidate Yoon's camp's explanations such as "not regularly employed," "no income," and "did not engage in reporting/editorial work" can be a defense regarding the latter category of regularly employed journalists.

However, the fact that his position as an internal director has not been disqualified in the corporate registry indicates that the former category of 'publisher/manager' needs to be assessed separately.

Notably, there is also visual evidence of the media outlet reporting on candidate Yoon during the election period. **(See photos)**

The top of the video screen reads 'Seoul Metropolitan Superintendent of Education Preliminary Candidate Yoon Ho-sang.' [Photo=Eduin News screen capture]

If the media outlet continued to report on candidate Yoon while his position as an internal director remained in the corporate registry, candidate Yoon's camp's rebuttal of 'no relation' is also a point that the Election Commission must examine.

Han Sang-dae, former Prosecutor General, who is knowledgeable in public security matters, stated in relation to this, "It goes against the legislative intent of the Public Official Election Act, which restricts journalists from registering as candidates," and "Given the corporate registry information and the media's reporting, it is difficult to consider them unrelated."

Therefore, the issue extends beyond whether candidate Yoon personally wrote articles as an editor to the relationship between his media management position and election reporting.

Issue 3: What Did the Election Commission Verify?

The problem lies in the Election Commission's attitude. If the Election Commission treats this issue as a simple citizen complaint or a dispute between candidates, that would be a bigger problem.

Candidate qualification review is the starting point of election management.

If the legal disqualifications or violations of resignation requirements were not filtered out during the candidate registration stage, the Election Commission must initiate a post-verification process, including an investigation into administrative errors.

If the Election Commission attempts to resolve the controversy solely based on candidate Yoon's resignation confirmation letter, it would be equivalent to abandoning its responsibility as an agency for candidate qualification review.

What the Election Commission needs to verify is not how plausible candidate Yoon's camp's explanation is, but whether the resignation requirements under the Public Official Election Act were actually met at the time of candidate registration.

Article 52 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that if a violation of Article 53, Paragraph 1 is discovered after candidate registration, it is grounds for invalidating the candidate registration.

This is why this matter is called a 'controversy over invalidation of candidate registration' rather than a simple 'dispute between candidates.'

Lawyer Park Joo-hyun, an expert in Election Commission-related litigation, explained, "If it is confirmed that the candidate did not meet the resignation requirements under the Public Official Election Act at the time of registration, the Election Commission must promptly review whether to invalidate the candidate registration, even after the election."

An official from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission stated, "The election division is currently verifying the facts and plans to reach a swift conclusion."

The importance of this matter extends beyond the personal qualification controversy of candidate Yoon Ho-sang.

This is another symbolic event that gauges whether the National Election Commission, a constitutional body dedicated to election management, evades its legal and procedural responsibilities in the face of a controversy that infringes upon citizens' right to participate in politics, or whether it actively exercises its responsibility for candidate qualification review and determining registration invalidity.

This Matter Cannot Be Resolved with a Resignation Confirmation Letter

What needs to be confirmed is clear.

It includes what resignation proof candidate Yoon's camp submitted at the time of candidate registration, whether the original resignation letter was actually received on January 31, why the internal director position was not removed from the corporate registry, and whether there was a conflict of interest between the media outlet's election period reporting and Yoon's legal status.

Defects in candidate registration cannot be excluded from post-verification.

The Election Commission must compare the documents submitted at the time of candidate registration with the corporate registry, periodical registration data, and resignation letter receipt records. This is the minimum responsibility that the election management authority must demonstrate to the public.

This matter cannot be concluded with a single resignation confirmation letter.

What the Election Commission must do now is not to passively accept the candidate's camp's explanation, but to determine, based on law and evidence, whether the resignation requirements of the Public Official Election Act were met at the time of candidate registration and whether there were grounds for invalidating the candidate registration.