His victory gives progressive education leaders four more years in Seoul, South Korea's education hub. It is also expected to add momentum to their key policies, including absolute grading for the college entrance exam and school records.
As of 4:40 p.m. Thursday, with 99.92 percent of ballots counted, Jung had 30.32 percent of the vote, or 1,505,509 votes. Conservative candidate Cho Jeon-hyeok came second with 23.48 percent, or 1,166,086 votes.
Jung led Cho by 339,423 votes, or 6.84 percentage points.
Yoon Ho-sang ranked third with 14.58 percent, or 723,954 votes. Han Man-joong came fourth with 9.42 percent, or 468,177 votes.
The count has not been completed because protesters blocked officials from moving a ballot box at a polling station in Jamsil 7-dong, Songpa District, after a shortage of ballot papers. Still, Jung secured victory late Wednesday night.
Jung won with just over 30 percent of the vote, the lowest winning share in a Seoul education superintendent race since direct elections began. The previous record was 34.34 percent, set by former superintendent Kwak No-hyun in 2010.
Eight candidates ran in this year's race, the largest number since Seoul first directly elected an education superintendent in 2008. They included three progressives, four conservatives and one centrist.
Progressive candidates also won in 10 regions nationwide, including Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon.
Jung, a former sociology professor at Seoul National University, first became Seoul education superintendent in an October 2014 by-election, defeating Cho. He served for one year and six months.
This year, he campaigned on policy continuity. He especially stressed support for basic academic skills.
His main pledges included free early childhood education for children aged 3 to 5, public transportation support for students, free school field trips, support for basic academic skills and stronger protection of teachers' rights.
Jung returned to work at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on Thursday morning after his suspension from duty ended.
"There are many difficult tasks ahead, including students' mental health, protection of teachers' rights, AI-based future education and narrowing education gaps," Jung said. "I believe we need to strengthen cooperation among the Seoul education office, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the central government."
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.