Final Approval of Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance Repeal Bill... Supreme Court Decision Pending

Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon Requested Reconsideration but Ultimately Abolished
Supreme Court Approves Chungnam Office of Education's Suspension of Execution Request

The Seoul Metropolitan Council has finally passed the ordinance to repeal the Student Human Rights Ordinance, which was brought to the plenary session for the second time.

On the 25th at 2 p.m., the Seoul Metropolitan Council held a plenary session and passed the "Request for Reconsideration of the Ordinance to Repeal the Seoul Metropolitan Student Human Rights Ordinance" with 76 votes in favor, 34 against, and 1 abstention out of 111 members present.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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, leading to efforts to repeal it in education offices across cities and provinces nationwide.

The council passed the repeal ordinance in the plenary session on April 26, but Cho Hee-yeon, the Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, requested reconsideration on the 16th of last month. Superintendent Cho also held a tent protest in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education opposing the repeal of the Student Human Rights Ordinance.

Although the ordinance has been repealed through the council's procedures, it may proceed to legal processes. In the case of Chungnam, the repeal ordinance for the Student Human Rights Ordinance was passed after reconsideration, but the Chungnam Office of Education filed a suspension of execution request and a nullity confirmation lawsuit with the Supreme Court, arguing that the repeal ordinance violated the Constitution and higher laws. On the 30th of last month, the Supreme Court accepted the Chungnam Office of Education's request for suspension of execution regarding the repeal ordinance of the Chungnam Student Human Rights Ordinance.