Photo: Seoul city council votes on the bill to abolish the Student Human Rights Ordinance. Credit: Yonhap News.
On August 25, the Seoul City Council 서울시의회 cast a near-unanimous vote to kill a bill abolishing the 2012 Student Human Rights Ordinance 학생인권조례, which provides (among others) protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The incremental step in a country where same-sex marriage remains illegal has long been a target for conservative groups.
The Seoul city council has sought to abolish the ordinance since 2022, but the Democratic Party 민주당 regained control of the city’s legislature in the June 3 Local Elections 지방선거 and saved the ordinance from the brink of elimination. When the time came to vote on the future of the ordinance, the PPP voted in a way no one expected: of the 38 PPP council members, 37 voted to kill the bill, and one abstained.
A sudden change of heart toward the rights of Seoul’s students? Not exactly. After a 27-hour radio silence, the PPP offered only a statement saying the party seeks to promote “cooperative governance” - but individual PPP city councilors gave a more embarrassing explanation: they'd been told to press "no," under the impression that a ‘no’ vote meant abolishing the ordinance, rather than voting ‘no’ on the bill that would have abolished the ordinance.
