Former Seoul City Council Chairman Kim Hyun-ki, who led the passage of two ordinances, issues a statement: "Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education must now stand with citizens, not specific teacher organizations"
Former Seoul Metropolitan Council Chairman Kim Hyun-ki (People Power Party, Gangnam 3) issued a statement on the 30th of last month, urging the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to withdraw its Supreme Court lawsuit against the ‘Basic Academic Skills Guarantee Support Ordinance’ and the ‘Ordinance to Repeal the Student Human Rights Ordinance.’
The City Council enacted and re-approved the ‘Basic Academic Skills Guarantee Support Ordinance’ last May to improve students’ basic academic skills.
The council also created an alternative ordinance (Ordinance on the Rights and Responsibilities of School Members) to harmonize student human rights and teachers’ authority, and repealed the ‘Student Human Rights Ordinance’ in June 2024.
Kim Hyun-ki (former chairman) played a leading role as the Seoul Metropolitan Council chairman at the time in establishing, submitting, and processing these two ordinances.
However, then Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court and requested a suspension of execution regarding these two ordinances, and the effect of the council’s resolution is currently suspended.
Statement by Former Chairman Kim Hyun-ki
Seol Se-hoon, Deputy Superintendent acting as the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent, should immediately withdraw the Supreme Court lawsuit against the ‘Basic Academic Skills Guarantee Support Ordinance’ and the ‘Ordinance to Repeal the Student Human Rights Ordinance’ to realize Seoul education where basic academic skills are improved and student human rights and teachers’ authority are harmonized.
The 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council enacted the Basic Academic Skills Guarantee Support Ordinance early last year to raise the basic academic skills of our children, which can be considered fundamental human rights.
As chairman at the time, I formed the ‘Seoul Education Academic Skills Improvement Special Committee’ with the purpose of guaranteeing the basic academic skills of Seoul students, which had significantly declined due to social polarization and COVID-19, and actively supported the committee in drafting the ordinance.
However, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education at the time responded to the Basic Academic Skills Guarantee Ordinance with a narrow and formal argument that basic academic skills are a national delegated task, filing a Supreme Court invalidation lawsuit in May 2023.
Also, during my tenure as chairman in December 2023, we enacted the ‘Ordinance on the Rights and Responsibilities of School Members,’ which harmoniously defines the rights and responsibilities of the ‘school triad’?students, teachers, and parents?and made the decisive move to repeal the ‘Student Human Rights Ordinance’ in June, which had been a source of social conflict.
Regarding this ordinance as well, former Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon habitually filed a Supreme Court lawsuit, and the suspension of execution was granted, so the ordinance to repeal the Student Human Rights Ordinance currently has no effect.
On the 29th, the Supreme Court confirmed the loss of office for Superintendent Cho by recognizing that he unfairly executed special hiring for dismissed teachers from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), undermining the strict fairness required in teacher recruitment, and forcing subordinates to perform duties they were not obligated to (violations of the State Public Officials Act, etc.).
Cho’s illegality was acknowledged without exception through six judicial processes, including the Board of Audit and Inspection’s audit, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials’ investigation, prosecution indictment, and all three levels of court trials.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education must now sever ties with ideologically driven specific teacher organizations. The final sentence against former Superintendent Cho represents a solemn demand from our society.
Acting Superintendent Seol Se-hoon should align with the wishes of the majority of the public and the policy direction of the central government, which call for the improvement of basic academic skills and the harmony of student human rights and teachers’ authority.
Acting Superintendent Seol urges the immediate withdrawal of the Supreme Court lawsuits against these two ordinances so that the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s resolutions can take effect.
We demand that Acting Superintendent Seol not waste the approximately 50-day acting period by simply holding onto the negative legacy left by former Superintendent Cho, but actively take steps toward the normalization of Seoul education.
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