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The Seoul City Council today approved a proposal to abolish Seoul’s Student Human Rights Ordinance.
12 years have passed since its entry into force in 2012.
After the Seoi Primary School incident last year sparked controversy that the Students’ Human Rights Ordinance curtails teachers’ “teaching rights”, the abolition process was started nine months later.
The superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Bureau of Education, Cho Hee-yeon, announced her plan to take legal action, saying it would lead to a decline in the overall human rights of children and youth.
This is reporter Je Eun-hyo.
◀ Report ▶
After the death of a teacher at Seoul’s Seoi Elementary School in July last year, controversy turned to the students’ human rights ordinance.
There has been a growing argument, especially in political circles, that teachers’ rights are being violated by ordinances that overemphasize student rights and that they should be abolished.
[윤재옥/국민의힘 원내대표 (2023년 7월 25일)]
“The Students Human Rights Ordinance ultimately encouraged irresponsible self-indulgence on the part of some students, resulting in violation of the teaching rights and right to education of the majority of students, leading to the devastation of the educational field.”
The Students’ Human Rights Ordinance came into force in 2012, establishing students’ right not to be discriminated against and the right to be free from violence such as corporal punishment.
On this basis, hair trimming and corporal punishment of students were prohibited.
However, some argued that the ordinance violated teachers’ legitimate right to education, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has made frequent attempts to abolish the ordinance since 2022.
Finally, today, nine months after the death of Seoi Elementary School teacher, the Seoul City Council, led by members of the People Power Party, abolished Seoul’s Student Human Rights Ordinance.
[김현기/서울시의회 의장]
“I declare that agenda item 38, the bill to abolish the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Student Human Rights Ordinance, was approved with 60 votes in favour, 0 against and 0 abstentions out of the 60 members present .”
About 30 Democratic Party deputies did not participate in the vote.
Youth groups strongly opposed it.
[수영/청소년인권모임 ′내다′]
″(Students’ Human Rights Ordinance) has served as a last line to protect students from anti-human rights school regulations and discriminatory practices. (Teachers’ poor working conditions, etc.) The government and the ruling party are trying to ignore essential problems and irresponsibly shift responsibility for students’ human rights.”
The superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Bureau of Education, Cho Hee-yeon, also started a tent sit-in to protest the abolition.
[조희연/서울시교육감]
“If the Student Human Rights Ordinance were abolished, it would lead to a decline in the overall human rights of students across the country, as well as children and adolescents. The collapse of teachers’ right to education cannot be solved by abolishing students’ human rights.”
Additionally, Superintendent Cho announced that he will consider requesting a review so that the National Assembly can vote again.
However, since the number of People Power Party members who have taken the initiative to abolish the ordinance is huge, it is very likely that the city council will re-admit it as it is.
I’m Je Eun-hyo from MBC News.
Video reportage: Choi Gyeong-sun and Nam Seong-hyeon / Video editing: Kim Jong-un
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