Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Opposes Enforcement Decree Removing Authority to Cancel Autonomous Private High Schools

"Supervisory Authority Must Be Guaranteed"

The Ministry of Education deleted the legal provisions allowing metropolitan and provincial superintendents of education to cancel autonomous private high schools (Jasago) at any time, prompting the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to protest, stating that "the education office's authority to supervise Jasago must be guaranteed."

On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education expressed its position on the Ministry of Education's proposed revision of the enforcement decree, saying, "The metropolitan education office requests to provide opinions," and added, "This measure weakens the education office's authority to manage and supervise Jasago, so reconsideration of the enforcement decree revision is necessary."

Earlier, on the 7th, the Ministry of Education announced the legislative notice for the 'Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.' The decree deleted three provisions that allowed superintendents to cancel Jasago designations at any time due to false or fraudulent accounting execution, unfair student selection, etc. This is interpreted as a revision following the 2020 court ruling on the cancellation of Jasago designation for Whimoon High School in Seoul. The metropolitan education office revoked Whimoon High School's Jasago status citing embezzlement incidents in 2020, but Whimoon High School filed a lawsuit and won in the second trial. The court ruled that "the disposition based on an enforcement decree that exceeds the limits of delegated legislation and is ineffective is unjust." Although the enforcement decree stipulated reasons for canceling Jasago designation, the parent law only specified provisions regarding designation.

In response, the metropolitan education office requested the Ministry of Education to include grounds for canceling Jasago designation in the parent law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but the Ministry claimed to have deleted the cancellation requirements contained in the enforcement decree. In its statement, the metropolitan education office said, "Last year, we requested the Ministry of Education to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to include clear legal grounds for the education office's management and cancellation of Jasago designations, and to revise the enforcement decree accordingly to align with the amended higher law. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Education chose a convenient method of deleting only the cancellation requirements for Jasago designation in the enforcement decree without amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, thereby weakening the education office's authority to manage and supervise Jasago."

The metropolitan education office emphasized that the enforcement decree also ignored another limitation of 'delegated legislation.' It explained, "The proposed enforcement decree allows termination of designation based on school operation performance evaluation, but this contradicts the court ruling that the current enforcement decree exceeds the limits of delegated legislation. The Ministry of Education used the term 'termination of designation' instead of 'cancellation of designation' to imply that it does not violate the higher law, but it is questionable whether the illegality of the enforcement decree has been resolved in practice."

Additionally, the metropolitan education office stated that a legal basis emphasizing the public nature and social responsibility of Jasago is absolutely necessary. It said, "We repeatedly request the Ministry of Education to clearly stipulate operational provisions including Jasago designation and cancellation in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and to ensure the education office's authority to manage and supervise Jasago through the corresponding revision of the enforcement decree."

The metropolitan education office plans to convey its opinions on the legal amendment after the Ministry of Education's scheduled meeting with officials in charge of Jasago affairs on the same day.