Seoul student rights ordinance survives repeal attempt

Seoul’s student rights ordinance will remain in effect after the city council on Tuesday rejected a proposal to abolish it, ending a renewed attempt to scrap the controversial measure.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council voted down a motion to reconsider the repeal ordinance at a plenary session, with 117 of 118 members voting against the repeal ordinance and one abstaining. No lawmakers voted in favor.

The result means the Seoul Student Human Rights Ordinance, which had faced possible abolition, will remain in force.

First introduced in 2012, the ordinance and efforts to abolish it have been at the center of a long-running ideological clash over student rights and school authority. Conservatives have argued that the ordinance excessively prioritizes student rights, undermines teachers’ authority and promotes protections for sexual minorities in schools.

The ordinance had been targeted for repeal in April 2024, when the city council passed a measure to abolish it. The Supreme Court, however, granted an injunction requested by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in July 2024, suspending the effect of the repeal and allowing the ordinance to remain in force.

The city council later passed another repeal measure in December, led by lawmakers from the People Power Party.

In response, the Seoul education office requested reconsideration, arguing that abolishing the ordinance could weaken mechanisms for protecting students whose rights are violated.

Tuesday’s outcome largely reflected a dramatic shift in the political makeup of the Seoul Metropolitan Council following the June 3 local elections.

The previous council, which approved the repeal in 2025, had been dominated by the People Power Party.

But the elections reversed the balance of power, giving the Democratic Party of Korea 80 of the 118 seats in the newly inaugurated 12th council, compared to 38 for the People Power Party. The Democratic Party had opposed abolishing the ordinance.

The change in the council’s composition meant that the new council blocked a repeal pushed through by the previous People Power Party-controlled council when it considered Seoul Superintendent of Education Jung Geun-sik’s request for reconsideration.

Jung issued a statement after the vote, saying student rights should not be viewed as conflicting with teachers’ rights or their legitimate educational activities.

“Student rights are not values that stand in opposition to teachers’ rights or legitimate educational activities,” Jung said. “In schools where students’ human rights are respected, teachers’ rights and legitimate educational activities should also be respected.”

He added that he hoped the decision would mark “a new starting point” beyond the long-running disputes surrounding the student rights ordinance, toward a school system in which the rights and responsibilities of all members of the educational community are respected.

The city’s education office said it plans to preserve the achievements made under the ordinance while continuing to revise related policies to reflect changes in the educational environment and demands from schools.

The office added that it would clarify the principle that students and teachers should respect each other’s rights and fulfill their respective responsibilities, while also ensuring strong protection for teachers’ rights and legitimate educational activities.

The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union also welcomed Tuesday’s vote, describing the result as a “victory” for students, education workers, parents and civil society.

“Today’s rejection is not a victory for politics or administration,” the union said. “It is a victory for the students who have defended student rights, a victory for the educational community that refused to accept politics that pits the rights of students against those of teachers, and a victory for civil society that did not abandon the basic principle that students, too, are citizens with dignity.”

The union also called on the People Power Party to apologize and withdraw the original repeal ordinance, whose effect remains suspended under the Supreme Court injunction. It also urged education authorities to overhaul policies related to human rights in schools.