Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over 'Student Rights Ordinance' Amidst Inquiry on Teacher Death at Seoi Elementary School

Yeo "More Problems in Areas Without Student Rights Ordinance"
Ruling Party "Becoming a Comprehensive Basis for Malicious Complaints"

The ruling and opposition parties clashed once again on the 28th at the National Assembly's Education Committee over the Student Human Rights Ordinance, which resurfaced following the death of a teacher at Seo-i Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is responding to questions from lawmakers at the Education Committee plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 28th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, stated at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly Education Committee held that day, "I believe the Student Human Rights Ordinance has excessively emphasized student rights, leading to a decline in teachers' authority," and added, "We will improve the Student Human Rights Ordinance."

Opposition lawmakers rebutted this. Kang Deuk-gu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "Based on recent media reports, it appears that in education offices without the Student Human Rights Ordinance, there were fewer infringements on teachers' authority," and added, "The education superintendents and the minister should give this matter more consideration."

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk argued, "The minister seems to suggest that the Student Human Rights Ordinance is the cause, but I think the fundamental cause has been misdiagnosed," and stated, "Teachers struggle with reports of child abuse caused by indiscriminate parents or students, so improving this aspect is important." He continued, "If the issue keeps being politicized as a problem of the Student Human Rights Ordinance, the problem will not be resolved," and added, "I hope that does not happen."

Democratic Party lawmaker Do Jong-hwan said, "Teachers also say that the lack of mechanisms and systems to control unreasonable behavior is a major problem," and emphasized, "We need to accurately diagnose the complex reality behind the causes, but simply blaming the Student Human Rights Ordinance for everything obscures the essence of the problem."

In response, the ruling party argued that the Student Human Rights Ordinance could affect the decline in teachers' authority. Kim Byung-wook, a member of the People Power Party, said, "According to a survey released today by the Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations, 83% of the approximately 33,000 teachers surveyed responded that the Student Human Rights Ordinance has influenced the decline in teachers' authority," and added, "It has become a broad basis for infringing on legitimate educational activities or for parents to file malicious complaints."

Kim continued, "The reason for these side effects is that while the Student Human Rights Ordinance includes freedoms and rights students should enjoy and regulations against rights violations, it lacks provisions on students' duties or respect for others' rights," and added, "The Student Human Rights Ordinance, first introduced domestically under the leadership of Superintendent Kim Sang-gon, omitted clauses on responsibility and duties, which are key elements of the New York City Student Bill of Rights."

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "If there is any case where teachers' authority is infringed upon due to student rights, as mentioned earlier, the accountability provisions in the Student Human Rights Ordinance should be strengthened," and added, "Currently, Article 4 of the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance includes accountability provisions, but I am very proactive about supplementing the ordinance by establishing clearer regulations for cases of physical, verbal, or emotional infringement on teachers' authority."

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