Seoul proclaims controversial student rights ordinance

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Thursday proclaimed an ordinance to protect the human rights of students, which have been at the center of public controversy.

With an aim to expand students' rights at school, the student human rights ordinance bans corporal punishment by teachers as well as discrimination against homosexual or pregnant students, allows rallies on school grounds and gives students the freedom to choose their own hairstyles and clothing.

The city government published the ordinance in its official weekly gazette issued on the day.

The ordinance, the third such move following earlier proclamations by Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju Metropolitan City, immediately took effect in the city's elementary, middle and high schools, as well as kindergartens.

Spearheaded in the capital city by liberal education chief Kwak No-hyun, the ordinance was submitted to the city council for endorsement in October and approved in December.

It is unclear, however, whether the ordinance will be upheld by all schools from the start of the spring semester in March as the education ministry, which has long opposed the regulation along with some teachers and conservative groups, sought legal action against the city's education office and Kwak.

Upon the city's proclamation of the ordinance, the education ministry filed litigation with the Supreme Court to nullify the regulation, along with a petition requesting its suspension until the court makes its decision.

"The Seoul ordinance carries a number of articles created without social consensus," the education ministry said. "We also see the city authority violate laws in the course of its announcement."

The country's local government act stipulates the education ministry may sue a municipal superintendent and file a petition to nullify city regulations within seven days of their announcement if the chief rejects the ministry's demand for reconsideration.

The court is expected to make a decision as early as next month.

The issue of student rights has recently drawn much attention in South Korea, after rampant school violence was blamed for a spate of suicides in recent months by young students who had been bullied. Critics have argued that giving students more rights would make it harder for teachers to control them, exacerbating the problem of bullying.  (Yonhap News)