NHRCK Chairperson's Statement Regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Move to Repeal the Student Rights Ordinance
All School Members' Rights Must Be Protected in Balance
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK, Chairperson Ahn Chang-ho) expresses concern over the Seoul Metropolitan Council's move to repeal the Student Rights Ordinance, including the passage of the repeal bill by the Council's Education Committee on November 17, and issues the following statement:
In June 2023, the NHRCK expressed its opinion to the Speaker of the Seoul Metropolitan Council that maintaining the Student Rights Ordinance would be desirable. The Commission determined that repealing the Student Rights Ordinance would create a vacuum in remedying human rights violations against students and would significantly hinder the systematic and stable implementation of student human rights affairs.
Schools are places where children and adolescents learn human rights sensitivity and attitudes of mutual respect, and where they are guided to grow into responsible citizens of a democratic society. The Student Rights Ordinance can serve as a means to foster rights-respecting schools. Moreover, students' rights and teachers' rights are not incompatible. Students' rights must be maximally protected and respected, and to this end, teachers' authority in educational activities must also be fully guaranteed.
Most of the difficulties currently raised in schools stem from a structure that requires teachers to resolve situations where integrated support for students and teachers is insufficient. Therefore, we must pay greater attention to finding and implementing measures that can guarantee the human rights of all school members, including students and teachers.
We respectfully request that the members of the Seoul Metropolitan Council reconsider the repeal of the Student Rights Ordinance. In-depth discussions with school members and stakeholders on the desirable direction of the Student Rights Ordinance should take priority. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted that "children do not lose their human rights by virtue of passing through the school gates." Now is precisely the time when more deliberation is needed on how to make rights-respecting school culture.
November 21, 2025
Ahn Chang-ho
Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of Korea
