2025년 부산교육감 재선거 결과 및 특징 분석 = Analysis of the Results and Characteristics of the 2025 Busan Superintendent of Education By-Election

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study analyzes the characteristics of the 2025 Busan Metropolitan Office of Education superintendent by-election and aims to provide empirical implications for debates surrounding the direct election system of superintendents. The superintendent direct election system was introduced to realize key principles of local educational autonomy, including democratic control by residents, professionalism in education, and political neutrality. However, it has continually been accompanied by various issues such as the politicization of elections, disputes over candidate qualifications, and the prevalence of low-information voting. While previous studies have primarily focused on normative and institutional discussions, empirical analyses examining how these issues manifest in actual election outcomes have remained relatively limited. Against this backdrop, this study examines the 2025 Busan superintendent by-election using major issue frameworks related to the superintendent election system. The findings indicate that the election of a progressive candidate with a majority of votes in Busan—a region commonly perceived as conservative—suggests that superintendent elections do not necessarily operate in the same manner as general partisan politics. This result implies that candidate professionalism, such as extensive experience in educational administration, may have influenced voter choice to a certain extent. In addition, inconsistencies between party identification and candidate support, as well as the involvement of religious groups in the election process, reveal that superintendent elections function as complex political arenas where diverse political and social factors intersect. These dynamics illustrate that the core values of local educational autonomy—democratic control and political neutrality—are reproduced in a relationship of tension within actual electoral processes. This study contributes to extending discussions on the superintendent direct election system from a normative to an empirical dimension and provides foundational insights into the conditions under which the system operates.