Joint Press Conference in Front of the Education Office
"A Regression to the Past That Reverses Education"
Emphasizing the 'Student Rights Act' Proposed by the Opposition in March
As the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance was abolished after 12 years, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and opposition party lawmakers have voiced their opposition. They plan to enact a 'Student Human Rights Act' as a legislative bill in the National Assembly if the ordinance is repealed.
Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, along with Democratic Party Education Committee members Kang Min-jung, Kim Young-ho, and Park Joo-min, held a press conference at 10 a.m. on the 29th at the tent protest site in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "We oppose the abolition of the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance."
Earlier, on the 26th, the Seoul Metropolitan Council held a plenary session and passed the 'Ordinance to Repeal the Seoul Special City Student Human Rights Ordinance.' The Student Human Rights Ordinance is a regulation that prohibits discrimination against students based on gender, religion, and other reasons. Last year, the government pointed to the Student Human Rights Ordinance as a cause of infringement on teachers' rights, prompting education offices across the country to push for its repeal.
On this day, Superintendent Cho said, "The Student Human Rights Ordinance has played a significant role in fostering a human rights-friendly school culture over the past 12 years," adding, "It is an ordinance that must never be abolished for the realization of mature democracy." The lawmakers also stated, "The abolition of the Student Human Rights Ordinance will not only threaten human rights and safety but will also cause a serious regression by reverting the direction and culture of education to the past."
Democratic Party lawmakers attending the press conference unanimously opposed the repeal and emphasized the necessity of the 'Student Human Rights Act.' The 'Special Act for the Guarantee of Student Human Rights,' which was introduced by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Min-jung of the National Assembly Education Committee in March, aims to establish legal norms to guarantee student human rights in place of the nationwide Student Human Rights Ordinances that are being pushed for repeal. It includes provisions on students' rights not to be discriminated against, rights related to health and safety, and the right to receive appropriate education.
The lawmakers said, "The Student Human Rights Act will guarantee students' fundamental rights and serve as a foundation to prevent discrimination and violence within schools," urging, "We must engage in sincere and in-depth discussions regarding the enactment of the Student Human Rights Act." They added, "The human rights law is a norm, not a criminal law," reassuring that concerns about unfair disciplinary actions and punishments experienced by individual teachers in some cases of infringement on teachers' rights are unnecessary.
Superintendent Cho, who began a 72-hour tent protest immediately after the passage of the repeal bill, will end the protest this afternoon. About 100 citizens and Superintendent Cho are scheduled to hold a closing ceremony in front of the protest site this afternoon. Going forward, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to actively respond to the repeal ordinance, including exercising the right to request reconsideration.
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