July 21 Legislative Report: Bills on Teacher Rights and Special Education Extension, and Controversy over Merger of Jeonbuk National University Affiliated High School

Background of Bills on Teacher Rights Protection and Extension of Special Education

Yang Seung-jo, a Democratic Party lawmaker and floor leader of the National Assembly’s Education Committee, has recently introduced multiple education-related bills aimed at enhancing the status of teachers and improving the educational environment. The core focus is on measures to restore teachers’ rights by protecting educators from violence and false complaints within schools. Simultaneously, Park Dae-gi, a lawmaker from the Rebuilding Korea Party, is serving on the Education Committee’s Bill Review Subcommittee and is leading legislative deliberations aimed at eradicating school violence. These efforts to guarantee stable teaching activities for educators are evaluated as an essential process for the normalization of public education.

A partial amendment to the Special Education Act for Persons with Disabilities, etc., is also a significant subject of legislative debate. Jointly sponsored by Rep. Yang Seung-jo and Rep. Roh Hee-yong of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the bill focuses on extending mandatory education for people with disabilities and raising the staffing standards for special education teachers. Criticism has persistently arisen that the current student-to-teacher ratio is excessively high, raising concerns about a decline in the quality of education. This amendment is interpreted as a concrete attempt to practically guarantee the learning rights of special education targets and refine the support system for persons with disabilities within public education.

Controversy over Merger of Jeonbuk National University Affiliated High School and University Innovation Legislation

The controversy over the merger and closure of the prestigious Jeonbuk National University Teachers College Affiliated High School has emerged as a major issue in the education sector. Rep. Yang Seung-jo held a forum at the National Assembly and summoned Ministry of Education officials to inspect the status of the merger. Concerns were raised that the school's restructuring plan, based on population decline, could destroy the local educational ecosystem. Since the closure of a regional flagship teachers’ college-affiliated high school could accelerate the brain drain of excellent talent from the region, the Ministry of Education was urged to reconsider the matter carefully.

Meanwhile, Rep. Park Young-jae of the Rebuilding Korea Party has actively participated in revising relevant bills to support university innovation and industry-academia cooperation during the 22nd National Assembly, presenting his opinions. His efforts align with the movement of Rep. Choi Gyeong-hwan, who introduced an amendment to the Korea Student Aid Foundation Act to improve university tuition and student loan systems. Rep. Roh Hee-yong’s role as head of the Rebuilding Korea Party’s University Student Livelihood Support Task Force, where he discussed policies on student loans and living expenses, also follows the same trajectory. There is a growing trend of actively building institutional safety nets to reduce the economic burden on students in higher education.

Student Safety Enhancement and Key Issues in Bill Review Process

Discussions on bills to prevent school safety accidents and strengthen student safety are expected to gain momentum. Rep. Park Young-jae focused on narrowing the blind spots in lifelong education and safety management systems through inquiries regarding the amendment to the Lifelong Education Act. In particular, the amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Internet Communication and Network Utilization and Information Protection, co-sponsored by Rep. Roh Hee-yong, contains measures to eradicate deepfake sex crimes, directly impacting the digital protection environment for adolescents. The activities of Rep. Park Dae-gi, who conducted review activities in the Budget and Accounts Committee to ensure the effectiveness of the youth protection budget, are also noteworthy.

In the voting process at the National Assembly plenary session, defections from the party line are serving as a distinct indicator of political conflict. In the alternative bill to the Partial Amendment to the Korea Rural Community Corporation and Farmland Management Fund Act, passed on June 18, 10 lawmakers from the People Power Party cast affirmative votes. The dissenting votes, including those of Reps. Yoo Sang-beom and Kim Jam-geon, show the significant gap between the positions of the Seoul metropolitan area and non-metropolitan regions in agricultural bills involving complex local interests.

On the same day, eight lawmakers from the People Power Party broke the party line and voted in favor of the Partial Amendment to the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources. The dissenting votes, including those of Reps. Kim Eun-hye and Park Soo-young, reveal internal party divisions regarding environmental regulations. While the education sector sees active legislation through consensus, such as Rep. Park Dae-gi leading the review of education bills in the subcommittee, political intersection points remain complexly at play in bills related to budget and resource allocation.

Implications for Future Education Legislation and Policy

Demands for the expansion of education welfare budgets, such as Rep. Roh Hee-yong’s statement urging expanded meal support for children from single-parent households and increased budgets for after-school programs, are expected to continue. Rep. Roh Hee-yong’s example of exercising his speaking rights over 30 times during the Education Committee meetings in the first half of 2024 demonstrates the lawmakers’ strong will to intervene actively in education policy. The trend of lawmakers from both major parties serving on the Education Committee in the first half of the 22nd National Assembly simultaneously pursuing teacher rights protection and special education support is expected to serve as momentum for the relatively rapid passage of related bills in the future.

Bills in other sectors, such as the amendment to the National Assembly Testimony and Appraisal Act to strengthen penalties for false testimony and the amendment to the Support for North Korean Refugees Act, are also classified as legislative tasks directly linked to the social safety net. Ultimately, legislative trends in education and safety are converging toward creating an environment where both adolescents and teachers can remain at school safely. Detailed bill review and budget securing efforts at the National Assembly level are expected to enhance institutional completeness and lead to fundamental structural improvements in public education.