Human Rights Commission: "Universities Requiring Prior Approval for Posting Notices... Violation of Freedom of Expression"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission has ruled that requiring students to obtain prior approval from the university before posting large posters infringes on the constitutional freedom of expression.

On the 14th, the Human Rights Commission recommended that the president of A University revise related guidelines to avoid excessively restricting students' freedom of expression and autonomous activities. The commission stated, "The 'A University Academic Administration Regulations,' which allow only promotional materials approved in advance by the school to be posted on campus, infringes on freedom of expression."

Earlier, the student council of A University filed a complaint after more than 40 large posters and banners urging the normalization of school operations, posted between March and October last year with enrolled students, were removed without permission by the school authorities. The university claimed that according to academic administration regulations, all promotional materials must be approved and inspected in advance and posted according to specified size and location, and that the student council violated these rules and did not comply with requests for voluntary removal.

The Human Rights Commission acknowledged that some regulation by the school is necessary to maintain campus aesthetics and order of promotional postings. However, it judged that requiring students to obtain prior approval and inspection before posting promotional materials fundamentally restricts the student council’s healthy expression of opinions and autonomous activities, and furthermore constitutes an infringement on freedom of expression.

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