The former education superintendent of Jeollabuk Province, Seo Geo-seok, was fined 5 million won in the appellate court for violating the Public Official Election Act. It has been confirmed that even if the original sentence is upheld by the Supreme Court, the election will not be re-held this year.

In March, the Gwangju District Court in Jeonju sentenced Seo to a fine of 5 million won for election invalidation. The court found Seo guilty of publicizing false information during the 2022 local elections and stated, "The defendant claimed to be a victim of unilateral assault in the past, but it is difficult to accept such statements based on the testimonies of professors present at the scene and subsequent actions. Considering various indirect facts, it is natural to view that the defendant first physically assaulted a fellow professor, and then the professor retaliated, leading to mutual assault."

The case is currently under appeal to the Supreme Court, which, according to the Public Official Election Act, must issue a ruling within three months from the date of the appellate court's decision. Therefore, there is a possibility that the Supreme Court ruling may be issued in the second half of April.

Some schools speculate that if the Supreme Court ruling is made within the scheduled deadline, the 21st presidential election scheduled for June 3rd could coincide with the re-election of the Jeollabuk Province education superintendent. However, this possibility has been deemed impossible according to the interpretation of the Election Management Committee.

The Jeollabuk Election Management Committee stated in response to inquiries that "Re-elections or by-elections for local government heads confirmed after March 1, 2025, will not be held concurrently with the presidential election on June 3, 2025." Therefore, if Seo Geo-seok's election invalidation is confirmed by the Supreme Court by April, there will be no re-election for the education superintendent on the presidential election day in June this year.

Hence, even if Seo's election is invalidated, the Jeollabuk Provincial Office of Education is expected to operate under the acting duties of the vice superintendent until June of next year.