The Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance, which was scheduled for repeal discussions at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, will be maintained for the time being due to a court ruling.
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Education for Seoul, is holding a one-person protest against the abolition of the Student Human Rights Ordinance at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 18th, the Seoul Administrative Court approved the injunction request against the acceptance and proposal of the 'Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance Repeal Bill (repeal bill)' on the same day.
This decision will be maintained until the result of the lawsuit confirming the invalidity of the acceptance and proposal of the repeal bill is announced. Accordingly, the Seoul Metropolitan Council will not be able to submit the bill to the standing committee scheduled for the 19th. Originally, the Student Human Rights Ordinance was expected to be voted on in the standing committee on the 19th and passed in the plenary session on the 22nd.
The People Power Party, which holds the majority in the Seoul Metropolitan Council, has argued for the repeal, claiming that the Student Human Rights Ordinance infringes on teachers' legitimate educational rights.
On the other hand, the 'Joint Countermeasure Committee to Protect the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance (Gongdaeui),' composed of about 260 civic groups, filed a lawsuit against the Seoul Metropolitan Council in April, claiming that the repeal bill is illegal and requesting confirmation of the invalidity of its acceptance and proposal. As the possibility of the repeal bill passing increased regardless of the lawsuit, Gongdaeui requested an injunction against the acceptance and proposal of the repeal bill at the court on the 11th. Currently, the first trial of the lawsuit on the invalidity of the acceptance and proposal of the repeal bill is underway at the Seoul Administrative Court.
However, even if this repeal bill is not submitted, if a repeal bill proposed by a council member emerges, the Student Human Rights Ordinance can be deliberated.
Meanwhile, Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, opposes the repeal of the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance and has been holding a one-person protest every morning in downtown Seoul since the 13th.
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