Human Rights Commission: "Weekend Outing Restrictions" in High School Dormitories... Violation of Freedom of Movement

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that restricting weekend outings in high school dormitories infringes on students' freedom of movement.

On the 22nd, the Human Rights Commission announced that it recommended the principal of A High School to stop restricting weekend outings for dormitory students and to establish measures to prevent recurrence. The commission stated, "Although the dormitory management regulations allow weekend outings, restricting them without the consent of the dormitory students infringes on the students' freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution."

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission received a complaint from a student living in the dormitory of A High School, stating, "Although the school has regulations allowing outings on weekends of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weeks, outings are only permitted for exceptional reasons such as hospital visits or family matters." According to the commission's investigation, first- and second-year dormitory students at this school are allowed to go home twice a month, while third-year dormitory students are allowed once a month. On weekdays, school schedules end around 10:40 p.m., making outings difficult, and students who remain in the dormitory on weekends participate in after-school programs and self-directed learning.

A High School argued, "We have sufficiently informed students through admission briefings that they are to stay at school on weekends to conduct self-directed learning," and added, "If many students go out on weekends for reasons such as attending private academies or religious activities, it could harm the overall academic atmosphere, so outings are restricted." The school also explained, "Given the rural location of the school, we operate various after-school programs to reduce private education expenses, improve academic achievement, and support university admissions efforts." However, the Human Rights Commission judged that allowing only two returns home per month, making weekday outings almost impossible, and restricting weekend outings as well likely violates the constitutional principle of proportionality.

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