Urge the Lee government revoke the disciplinary measures on teachers

The disciplinary measures violate the freedom of expression

Numerous people are showing their grave concern with retreat of human rights and democracy in the Korean society since the inauguration of President Lee Myungbak in 2008 through a public statement. These people are professors overseas as well as in Korea, netizens, artists, writers, individual citizens and so on. Such statements are currently continuing.

Teachers from the ‘Korea Teachers & Education Worker’s Union(KTU) as a citizen were also about to announce their grave concern with the Lee Myungbak government. The Lee government threatened those teachers as stating that it would impose disciplinary measures on whoever joined such a publoic statement. However, the government’s threat could not block the statement of the KTU as well as the eagar for democracy.

Now, the oppressive Lee Myungbak government put harsh disciplinary measures on 17,000 teachers all of who jointed the statement rather than accepting the criticism. Moreover, the police arrested teachers from the KTU when the KTU held a press conference against the disciplinary measures of the government. The police also searched the KTU office and the e-mails of teachers.

We, PSPD(People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy), urge that the Lee government revoke the disciplinary measures as seriously concerned with its oppressive and anti-democratic behaviors. Although the teacher is a public servant, they are a citizen of South Korea. As teachers have right to vote like other citizens, they also have right to criticize policies, publicly announce their concern on government policies, and freely join an protest and gathering. The Lee government also well knew that this kind of statement by teachers was not illegal by the law since it went through legal consultation.

Nevertheless, the Lee Myungbak government still impose disciplinary measures on every single teacher who signed for the statement for achieving its political purposes. This apparently violates the freedom of expression as stated by the Constitution and is a political killing of the KTU, the union of teachers. It well reflects that the nature of the Lee Myungbak government is suppressive and unilateral rather than promoting democratic communication with its people.

We also point out that the problems of the Lee Myungbak’s policies on education. It lines up students only by exam records and undermines the equal opportunity principle regardless of parents’ social and financial status.

For example, the Lee government is building several international junior high schools and private high schools. Their tuitions are expensive so that only privileged students can afford them. Requiring high level of English fluency to enter these schools trigger young students go to private institutions till late, resulting in enriching the private institution market while undermining public education system. The Lee government also carried out a nation-wide exam and let students and schools of the whole nation line up from top to down only by that exam.

Since the Lee’s educational policies contain numerous problems as mentioned, teachers raised questions and criticisms on them. However, the Lee government has unilaterally enforced the policies without discussion and rather fired and dismissed teachers who refused to follow the policies. And it attempted to block the teachers’ statement and punished them.

We urge the Lee Myungbak government thoroughly think the reasons why numerous teachers joined the statement despite the government’s threat and review the raised questions and criticisms on its educational policies. People will not be cheated by its meaningless advocacy on reform of education if the Lee government still pursues the mentioned policies.