President Lee Jae-myung abruptly canceled the nomination of Lee Jin-sook as Minister of Education candidate on the 20th. Presidential Chief of Staff Woo Sang-ho announced in a briefing that "President Lee carefully listened to various opinions and made the decision to withdraw the nomination of candidate Lee Jin-sook after deep consideration."

It was reported that this withdrawal decision was made after broad consideration of opinions from both ruling and opposition party leadership. Chief of Staff Woo stated in the briefing, "We hope that the National Assembly will respect the President's decision and cooperate in the follow-up personnel procedures."

Since President Lee took office, a total of 19 ministerial candidates have been nominated, but only 6 have been appointed after passing the confirmation hearings. In particular, the plagiarism allegations and qualification controversies surrounding candidate Lee have clearly highlighted the societal expectations and public scrutiny regarding high-ranking officials in the education sector.

The repercussions of the withdrawal of candidate Lee Jin-sook's nomination are expected to have a significant impact on next year's nationwide Superintendent of Education elections. Recent ethical issues such as plagiarism and false career claims among some Superintendent candidates in various regions, including Jeonbuk, have intensified the societal demand for candidate verification more than ever.

In Jeonbuk, particularly, there is a precedent where former Superintendent Seo Geu-seok was fined 5 million won for election invalidation by the Supreme Court due to false statements in a previous election, making the public more sensitive to ethical issues. Superintendent Seo has been on trial for disseminating false information related to a colleague professor assault case during his tenure as the President of Jeonbuk University, placing him at the center of ethical controversies in the Jeonbuk education sector.

Therefore, it is expected that the verification of candidates' ethics will become even more stringent in next year's Jeonbuk Superintendent of Education election. Within the education sector, it is hoped that this incident will serve as a new turning point for thoroughly examining the ethical standards and qualities of Superintendent candidates.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the Presidential Office will soon begin the selection of a new Minister of Education candidate.