The Hot Potato in Politics: 'Student Rights Ordinance'... The Main Culprit of Teacher Authority Infringement?

The confrontation line between the ruling and opposition parties resurfaces, political disputes intensify

Amid a series of 'violations of teachers' rights' cases, including the death of an elementary school teacher and incidents of violence against elementary school teachers, political disputes are intensifying as the Student Human Rights Ordinance is mentioned as one of the causes of these violations. The ruling party insists that the issue of the Student Human Rights Ordinance needs to be examined, while the opposition party raises their voices, claiming that the ordinance is not the cause.

On the 23rd, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon stated on his social media (SNS), "Teachers' rights and student human rights should not be viewed as a zero-sum conflict. Both teachers' rights and student human rights are issues that must be protected and enhanced together," adding, "Blaming the previous administration does not hide one's own incompetence."

This statement came after media reports that a key official from the Presidential Office cited the Student Human Rights Ordinance as the cause of the death of an elementary school teacher in Seoul. Former leader Lee questioned, "Who is the key official who said that, and on what basis did he make such a statement?" He added, "If people with such crude and narrow-minded perceptions hold power and run amok, it is a serious national crisis."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jung-mi, leader of the Justice Party, also raised her voice, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is engaging in bad politics with obvious intentions under the pretext of resolving the Seo-i Elementary School incident. The Presidential Office, which even spreads outdated red scare rhetoric claiming that ‘pro-North Korean Juchesas created the Student Human Rights Ordinance,’ should get a grip," emphasizing that the Student Human Rights Ordinance is not the cause of the incident.

Kang Min-jung, a Democratic Party member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, wrote on her SNS, "The ‘relationship’ between teachers and students is the alpha and omega of education, but the disappearance of communal relationships, mutual trust, and respect alive with democracy is the most fundamental problem of the educational crisis," and argued, "Teachers' rights and student human rights are not a zero-sum relationship."

However, the government and ruling party judge that the Student Human Rights Ordinance has influenced the decline of teachers' rights. On the 24th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, after volunteering at flood recovery efforts in Cheongju, Chungbuk, mentioned to reporters that there are many claims pointing to the Student Human Rights Ordinance as one of the causes of violations of teachers' rights, stating, "If revisions are necessary or party-level measures are needed, we will take the necessary actions."

President Yoon Seok-yeol also ordered at the morning senior secretaries' meeting that "the party and local governments cooperate to simultaneously promote the revision of unreasonable autonomous ordinances that infringe on teachers' rights," according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon. This is seen as a remark targeting the 'Student Human Rights Ordinance.'

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