Court Rules "Private School Principals Can Also File Lawsuits Against Administrative Appeals Committee Decisions"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A court ruling has determined that not only school corporations or private school administrators but also school principals can file administrative lawsuits against decisions made by the Teacher Appeal Review Committee.

According to the legal community on the 31st, the Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 7 (Presiding Judge Kim Gukhyeon, Chief Judge) ruled against the president of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in a lawsuit seeking to cancel the decision to revoke the reappointment refusal issued by the Teacher Appeal Review Special Committee. The court stated, "There is a clear procedural defect in the plaintiff's review process conducted against Mr. A," and "There is no illegality in the defendant's decision to cancel the plaintiff's reappointment refusal."

In February last year, GIST notified Associate Professor A of the rejection of his reappointment due to low qualitative evaluation. Mr. A filed a petition to cancel the reappointment refusal, which was accepted by the Teacher Appeal Review Special Committee. The committee found procedural defects in the reappointment review process, such as GIST not providing Mr. A with an opportunity to present his opinion. The president of GIST filed a lawsuit against this decision of the Teacher Appeal Review Special Committee.

The issue in the lawsuit was whether it was lawful for the president, who is not a school administrator or corporation, to file the lawsuit. Article 10, Paragraph 3 of the former Teacher Status Act states, "Parties such as school corporations or private school administrators may file a lawsuit within 90 days from the date of receipt of the committee's decision document." The Teacher Appeal Review Special Committee argued that the president's lawsuit was improper based on this provision.

However, the court judged that the president also has a legal interest as a party to seek cancellation of the committee's decision. The court said, "Article 10, Paragraph 3 of the former Teacher Status Act cannot be seen as a limited enumeration granting the right to sue only to school corporations or administrators," and "This case is an exercise of the constitutional right to request a trial, and the Administrative Litigation Act recognizes the standing of the president of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology."

However, the court dismissed the president of GIST's claim to cancel the committee's decision ordering the cancellation of the reappointment refusal against Mr. A. The court stated, "The committee's criticism is that the reappointment review criteria and methods are flawed," and "GIST must prepare objective and reasonable evaluation criteria and methods as pointed out by the committee and reexamine Mr. A's reappointment."

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