Teachers Demand Basic Political Rights... 5,206 Submit Party Membership Applications

On Oct. 21, teachers and education civic groups hold joint press conference
Party membership applications submitted to the People Power Party and Democratic Party... call for legislation guaranteeing basic political rights
"Political neutrality in the classroom must not be used to strip teachers of their rights as citizens"

A total of 5,206 teachers took joint action, submitting applications to join ruling and opposition parties and calling for amendments to the current law restricting teachers from joining political parties.

On the afternoon of Oct. 21, the Coalition for Teachers' Political Rights, comprising 13 teachers' and education civic organizations, held a press conference in front of the National Assembly titled "Joint Action for Party Membership: Calling for Legislation to Guarantee Teachers' Basic Political Rights."

The joint action was organized to demand that teachers, too, have the right to choose and join a political party in accordance with their political beliefs. The coalition said teachers' professional duty to uphold political neutrality in education must be distinguished from the political rights they should be able to exercise as citizens outside school.

The coalition emphasized that restricting acts that impose particular political views on students and banning teachers from joining political parties as individuals are separate issues. It also said teachers are being denied the right to participate in political parties and have their views reflected in policymaking, even as they carry out education policies and bear responsibility for their outcomes. The coalition added that teachers' basic political rights must be guaranteed both to ensure that experiences from schools inform policy and to lay a sound foundation for democratic citizenship education.

The Gyosa Jeongchi Gibongwon Chatgi Yeondae, comprising 13 teachers' and education civic groups, held a press conference in front of the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 21st, calling for joint action to legalize teachers' basic political rights, including the right to join political parties. The Gyosa Jeongchi Gibongwon Chatgi Yeondae

They called on the National Assembly to amend laws that prevent teachers from joining political parties, guarantee basic political rights including the right to join a party, and establish legislation during the regular session along with a specific timetable that is made public.

Song Suyeon, chair of the Korean Teachers' Union Federation, said, "Teachers' basic political rights are not a subject for political bargaining or a matter of weighing the interests of different parties." She stressed that teachers should be held accountable for improper political activities that exploit their position, but that their rights as citizens outside school should not be restricted.

Park Yeonghwan, chair of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union, said, "We will do away with the contradiction of expecting teachers who cannot enjoy the rights of citizens to nurture democratic citizens." He added that the National Assembly should explain to the public why teachers' basic political rights need to be guaranteed and move forward with legislation.

On Oct. 21, 5,206 teachers submitted applications to join the People Power Party, the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party and others.

The coalition said it would continue joint action until teachers' basic political rights are guaranteed by law.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.