Ei-iE

The 10th Education International World Congress, meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 29 July to 2 August 2024:

1. Reaffirming that the Republic of Korea, as a member of the UN, the ILO, the OECD and the G20, has a firm obligation to respect and protect the civil rights of teachers, and that teachers’ political rights include not only the right to vote in an election, but also the rights to join a political party, run for the public office, and participate freely in political events without fear of discrimination or repression;
2. Noting that Korean teachers’ political rights and freedom of political expressions as citizens in a society are comprehensively banned even after school hours, while students aged above 16 are fully guaranteed to join a political party, pay party dues, and students aged 18 can run for public office under the newly revised Public Official Election Act;
3. Recalling Article 80 of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers stating that ‘teachers should be free to exercise all civic rights generally enjoyed by citizens and should be eligible for public office’;
4. Recalling the statement of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) in 2021 that ‘insofar as political activities undertaken by elementary, primary and secondary school teachers are held outside of the school establishment and are unrelated to teaching, a general prohibition of political activities . . . constitute discrimination on the ground of political opinion, contrary to the Convention’;
5. Condemning that despite the reiterated and urgent urges of the ILO Committees, the Government of the Republic of Korea has not taken any appropriate measure to ensure that school teachers enjoy their political rights as citizens.

The 10th EI World Congress therefore mandates the Executive Board, in cooperation with member organisations, to:

6. Strongly urge once again the Government of the Republic of Korea to take the immediate action to fully guarantee Korean teachers the civil and political rights as citizens, using all the possible means including the direct mission to South Korea;
7. Request the Government of the Republic of Korea to amend the relevant legislation to ensure that teachers and civil servants exercise their civil and political rights, in conformity with international standards; and
8. Demand the Government of the Republic of Korea to immediately cancel any disciplinary measure against teachers and public officials who engaged in political activities, which is not in compliance with the international standards.