Human Rights Commission: "Even for Students Who Commit School Violence... Ordering Transfer to a School 3 Hours Away Is a Human Rights Violation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has ruled that transferring a student who is a perpetrator of school violence to a school located three hours away for a round trip commute constitutes a human rights violation.

On the 24th, the NHRCK's Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the local education support office, located in a provincial area, clearly revise its related administrative guidelines to reassign the school of the student who committed school violence, in a manner that aligns with the objectives of protecting the victim student and guiding and educating the perpetrator student. This recommendation was made on the 7th.

The petitioner is a parent of a middle school student whose child was assigned to a school approximately 25 km away from their residence due to being identified as a perpetrator of school violence. This distance results in a round-trip commute of about three hours. The petitioner filed a complaint with the NHRCK, claiming that their child's human rights were violated.

The education support office explained that, based on the regulation in the '2021 Middle School Transfer and Enrollment Administrative Guidelines' which allows for transfer measures at a sufficient distance to protect victims of school violence, they assigned the perpetrator student to a distant school.

The NHRCK acknowledged the necessity of transfer measures to separate victim and perpetrator students of school violence. However, it judged that if the reassigned school requires a three-hour round-trip commute, there is a concern that the student's right to health and right to education during their developmental period could be infringed.

The NHRCK stated, "According to Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the 'Convention on the Rights of the Child,' which the Korean government has ratified, all activities concerning children conducted by public institutions must prioritize the best interests of the child. Assigning a distant school that imposes excessively long commuting times, thereby restricting the petitioner's child's general freedom of movement, right to health, and right to education, infringes upon human dignity and the right to pursue happiness."

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