Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Files Supreme Court Appeal Against Ordinance on 'Disclosure of Basic Academic Achievement Diagnosis Results'

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has decided to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court regarding the ordinance that allows the results of basic academic achievement diagnostic tests conducted in Seoul's elementary, middle, and high schools to be disclosed externally.

On the 9th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it has decided to file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court concerning the "Ordinance on Supporting the Guarantee of Basic Academic Achievement by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education." It also applied for a suspension of execution to prevent the enforcement of the ordinance.

According to the ordinance, school principals must report the status of basic academic achievement diagnostic tests annually to the school operation committee and may disclose the results on the school's website.

The Superintendent of Education must regularly inspect the implementation status of the diagnostic tests and submit it to the relevant standing committee of the City Council. The Superintendent may also reward schools that disclose the results of the basic academic achievement diagnostic tests.

The ordinance was approved on February 14 by the "Seoul Education Academic Improvement Special Committee," composed entirely of nine members from the People Power Party city councilors, and passed the City Council plenary session on March 10.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education judged that the ordinance might be illegal and requested reconsideration from the City Council, but it was re-approved again at the plenary session on the 3rd.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education considers that guaranteeing basic academic achievement is a national duty under the law and a task delegated to the Superintendent of Education, thus beyond the legislative scope of the City Council. It also judged that disclosing diagnostic results by region and school may violate the Educational Institution Information Disclosure Act.

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also sympathizes with the City Council's concerns about declining academic achievement and is promoting various policies to support the guarantee of basic academic achievement. However, this ordinance has the potential to violate the law, which led to the decision to file a lawsuit."

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