Last week’s conviction of Seoul’s chief educator Cho Hee-yeon for running a smear campaign during the 2014 election has intensified calls for abolishing the popular direct election of regional education heads.

The Seoul Central District Court fined Cho, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, 5 million won ($4,600), convicting him of spreading false rumors against his rival candidate. If the Supreme Court confirms the ruling, Cho will lose his job. Under the current law, elected officials are removed from their post if they are sentenced to a punishment heavier than 1 million won in fines.

Cho is appealing his case, but legal experts see little chance of the lower court’s ruling being overturned. A jury of ordinary citizens, which was formed at his request, unanimously returned a verdict of guilty.

All of Cho’s three predecessors elected since the direct election was introduced in 2007 have stood trial for violating laws during their campaigns. Two of them ― Gong Jeong-taek and Kwak No-hyun ― were forced to quit in 2009 and 2012, respectively. Cho’s immediate predecessor, Moon Yong-rin, was tried on charges of making false allegations during last year’s election.

Looking across the country, nine of the 16 metropolitan and provincial education heads elected in 2010 have been implicated in corruption and other wrongdoing.

The adoption of the direct popular vote to choose educational superintendents was designed to reflect the constitutional values regarding the autonomy and political neutrality of education. It was also anticipated that elected education chiefs might be better positioned to work out more appropriate policies tailored to specific conditions in each region.

But public calls have mounted for overhauling the system, which has been criticized for having caused more harm than good.

To finance expensive electoral campaigns, many candidates are tempted to resort to illegal means. Elected on a low turnout ― mostly with less than a third of eligible voters casting ballots ― educational superintendents have had their legitimacy called into question. Confrontation between progressive superintendents and Educational Ministry officials has worsened over issues such as disciplining politically active teachers and reducing the number of elite high schools.

Last year, a presidential commission on the advancement of local autonomy proposed abolishing the direct election of educational superintendents. It is natural that Cho’s conviction is further strengthening this demand.

Alternatives suggested by experts include returning to the appointment of education chiefs by the central government or local administrative heads or making candidates for educational superintendents pair with contestants for governors or mayors.

But it seems too hasty to dump the spirit that was considered in introducing the direct election system. A practical alternative may be to hold direct elections in a more limited way ― by giving voting rights only to parents of students, teachers and other educational officials.

It is also necessary to consider restoring the requirement for educational superintendent candidates to have at least five years of experience teaching students or handling education-related matters. The main political parties revised the law years ago to eliminate the qualification in a move seen as having an ulterior motive of widening the way for some populist politicians to run for the educational post on the back of their public recognition. But this measure led to an overcrowded field in last year’s election, resulting in more negative campaigns.