Constitutional Court Rules Ban on University Faculty Union Political Activities Unconstitutional, Violates Right to Equality

Article 3 of the Teacher Union Act Declared Unconstitutional by a 7-2 Ruling

Constitutional Court, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Constitutional Court has ruled that Article 3 of the "Act on the Establishment and Operation, etc. of Trade Unions for Teachers" (Teacher Union Act), which prohibits political activities by university faculty unions, is unconstitutional.

On July 23, at 2 p.m., the Constitutional Court sitting en banc in Jongno-gu, Seoul, delivered a 7-2 decision declaring the law unconstitutional in the constitutional complaint filed by the Korean Professors’ Union, the Chung-Ang University Faculty Union, the Korean Private University Professor Union, and others.

The Constitutional Court held, "The provision in question imposes a significantly disadvantageous restriction—namely, a ban on political activities—solely on university faculty unions under the Teacher Union Act, even though the members and scope of activities are essentially similar to other groups. This amounts to unreasonable discrimination and violates the claimants’ right to equality."

The case arose after amendments to the Teacher Union Act in June 2020 allowed university faculty to form unions. At that time, the legislative amendment did not revise the provision banning political activities by unions composed of elementary, middle, and high school teachers; it simply applied the same restriction to university faculty unions. The claimants argued, "Individual university faculty members are free to join political parties or engage in election campaigns and other political activities, yet banning all political activities by a union formed by university faculty is contradictory and infringes on the right to equality and freedom of political expression," and filed a constitutional complaint.

The Constitutional Court further noted, "Unlike K-12 teachers, university faculty generally have much broader political freedoms, as their core work involves the education and academic research of adult students. Political activities are permitted for faculty organizations, lecturers' unions, and general trade unions, but there is insufficient justification for only university faculty unions to be banned from such activities."

However, Justices Kim Bokhyeong and Cho Hanchang dissented, arguing that the relevant provision is not unconstitutional. They stated, "Because university faculty unions possess far stronger cohesion and organizational power than general faculty organizations, allowing their political activities without restriction could lead to the politicization of universities, which could seriously infringe on students’ right to education."

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