hankyoreh

June 19. (by Shin So-young

By Jeon Jong-hwi, Kim Won-chul and Kim Seon-sik, staff reporters

In the end, after five years of being a legally recognized union, the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) has been driven into the streets again. The reason is that nine of the approximately 60,000 union members are dismissed teachers, which is permitted by union regulations, but not by the government. Since it was launched in May 1989, the KTU has remained faithful to its philosophy of “true education” in spite of various difficulties, including the dismissal of 1,527 teachers. Once again, it appears that the union has a rocky road ahead of it.

On June 19, the 13th division of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Hon. Ban Jeong-woo, ruled against the KTU in a suit in which the union had asked the court to reverse the decision of the Ministry of Employment and Labor to revoke the KTU’s official status.

“At the time of the KTU’s establishment, its regulations already were in violation of labor union legislation, but the KTU submitted a falsified version of its regulations along with its registration documents. Under these circumstances, simply ordering the union to correct the regulations or to pay a fine would satisfy neither justice nor the purpose of the labor union law, which seeks to ensure that unions are independent and democratic,” the court found.

Immediately after the decision, the Ministry of Education sent a notice to the KTU informing it that if the full-time union staff did not return to their original schools by July 3, it would either dismiss them from their positions or take disciplinary action against them.

After the verdict was delivered, the KTU held a press conference in front of the courthouse. “The court’s decision today goes beyond making the KTU an illegal union,” the KTU said. “It also strips workers who were unfairly dismissed by their employers of their labor rights, and it wholly rejects the basic labor rights of teachers, which are guaranteed by the constitution and by our laws.”

The KTU announced that it would immediately appeal the decision while also filing an injunction to prevent the lower court’s decision from taking effect until the court of appeal makes its ruling.

There was also a strong backlash from labor advocacy groups. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), to which the KTU belongs, released a statement reading, “We are astonished by the position of the government - which regards dismissing people for their dedication to union activity as a weapon for keeping them from participating in that union - as well as by the decision of the court to hold that position. This is no different from the logic of gangsters running a protection racket.”

With the KTU stripped of its legal status, it is inevitable that there will be chaos in the classroom and a setback for public education. Until now, the KTU had taken the lead in educational reform, combating entrenched issues such as corruption in education, the hierarchy at schools, and the educational focus on the university admission examination. But this decision means that, in the future, the KTU’s activity is sure to face many limitations.

“It is very likely that we will see a return of irrational behavior. Teachers may lose the freedom to voice their thoughts in the classroom, and there will be a resurgence of longstanding educational problems such as students coming early and staying late to study,” said KTU spokesperson Ha Byeong-su.

In addition, the decision means that KTU members have lost the right to petition the labor relations commission for relief from unfair labor practices even if they suffer repression in the classroom from the local education office or the school principal. When conflict and disputes between the school administration and the teachers forced outside of the law, those who suffer most are sure to be the students.

“When problems arise and the overall balance of power in the system of education is disturbed, the weak are hurt first. In schools, students will be hurt, since they are the weakest people,” said Hong In-gi, member of the policy committee for Good Teacher Campaign, a Christian education advocacy group.

“No matter what sophistry is employed, the KTU is a labor union, and there is only one truth. I believe that this is a decision that relies on superficial legal analysis to undermine constitutionally guaranteed labor rights,” said Kwon Young-guk, a lawyer representing the KTU.

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