A Study of the Procedure for Making the ‘Student Human Rights Ordinance’ in Gyeonggi Province, Korea

Abstract

  The ordinance of human rights for students passed the Gyeonggi Provincial Council in September 17, 2010. It is unprecedented in Korea. Under the ordinance, primary and secondary schools in the province have banned corporal punishment, coercive after-school classes, compulsory nighttime self-study and restrictions on student hairstyles and clothing. The ordinance provides students with the right to participate in school decision-making and safeguards against privacy violation. Similar initiatives in Seoul and Gwangju in 2011, and the northern province of Jeolla in 2013 followed the ordinance proclaimed in Gyeonggi Province.

  This research analyzes the procedure for making the student human rights ordinance in Gyeonggi Province. Through this work, the main reasons of ordinance establishment will be discussed. The methodology used in this research is a case study with precedent document analysis and interviews. The interviewees were persons who participated directly and indirectly in the creation and implementation of the ordinance.

  The impetus for the ordinance started with the election of Kim Sang-Gon as superintendent of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in April 2009. During the election period, one of his commitments was the introduction of a student human rights ordinance. The nine-member advisory committee for the ordinance was established in July 2009. In addition, committee chairman Kwak No-hyun invited four additional legal experts and human rights activists to join the committee in August 2009. After establishing this subcommittee, the advisory committee and the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education became actively involved in developing the student human rights ordinance. An initial draft ordinance was announced in December 2009, with the final draft submitted in February 2010. Finally, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council passed the ordinance for student human rights in September 2010.

  The present analysis explored the particulars of the evolution of the student human rights ordinance in Gyeonggi Province. The results of this investigation are as follows:

  First, a main factor of the ordinance establishment has been the leadership of Kim Sang-Gon, superintendent of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education. He is the first superintendent to have made a pledge for free meals, which drew much attention and ignited controversy regarding national welfare throughout Korea. As a famous liberal superintendent, the student rights ordinance was one of his major commitments and he has been critical of the government’s education policies. Immediately following his inauguration, he endeavored to enact a student rights ordinance into provincial legislation. All interviewees recognized that the ordinance would have been impossible without him.

  Advisory committee chairman Kwak No-hyun also contributed a great deal to the ordinance. As a former secretary-general of the National Human Rights Commission, he added human rights activists and legal experts to the advisory committee, which had mainly consisted of teachers, principals, etc., and also held public hearings in many cities. He had a significant role in making the ordinance.

  Second, people occupying a variety of different positions participated in the evolution of the student rights ordinance. Legal experts, human rights NGO activists, principals, teachers, board of education members and students devoted themselves to the ordinance establishment. The student planning board, consisting of 400 student applicants from the Internet, was actively engaged in incorporating students’ points of view in the ordinance.

  Third, members of the advisory committee, although sometimes opposed to one another and persistent in voicing their opinions, ultimately demonstrated (View PDF for the rest of the abstract)