Middle School 'Pre-Censored' Student Council Candidate Pledges and Speeches... Human Rights Commission Rules It as "Human Rights Violation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that a teacher's act of pre-reviewing and modifying the pledges and speeches of a middle school student running for the student council election constitutes a human rights violation.

On the 13th, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the principal of A Middle School to stop reviewing the pledges and speeches of student council candidates, and to establish and implement election management regulations that remove the grounds for teachers to intervene in student council elections.

B, a student attending A Middle School, ran as a candidate in the 2021 student council election and filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission, claiming that the Student Life Safety Department infringed on his rights by pre-reviewing and modifying the pledges and speeches of candidates including himself.

In response, the school argued, "We reviewed and guided necessary modifications to candidates' pledges and speeches to ensure that students acquire the basic qualities required as future democratic citizens of society, and to provide preemptive measures against potentially disorderly election campaigns, so that a fair election with democratic order is held."

However, the Human Rights Commission judged that, even considering the educational aspect of the teacher's actions, it was a wrongful practice that effectively restricted the content of candidates' pledges and speeches. It also viewed this as an unjust restriction on the freedom of expression that youth should enjoy, under the pretext of education.

The Human Rights Commission concluded, "Considering that in today's elections, voters judge the pledges and speeches presented by candidates on their own, and that students can also use the knowledge learned in public education and information and communication technology to judge the correctness, validity, and unfairness of student council candidates' pledges and speeches, it is unfair to pre-review and restrict the content of student council candidates' pledges and speeches."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.