The Seoul Metropolitan Council has passed a motion seeking to abolish an ordinance on students’ human rights.

The motion which was submitted last March was passed in a unanimous vote by all 60 in attendance during a plenary session on Friday. 

The Seoul council’s efforts to pass the motion had previously been impeded when the Seoul Administrative Court approved last December an injunction filed by some 260 civic groups to block the abolition of the ordinance. 

Meanwhile, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon denounced the council’s move in a statement, saying the passage of the motion is a declaration that not even the most minimal human rights of students will be respected. 

Of the seven cities and provinces that have implemented a student rights' ordinance since 2010, South Chungcheong was the first region to repeal it and now Seoul has become the second to do so. 

The ordinance states that the human rights of students are fundamental and must be guaranteed to maintain dignity, while protecting the rights to freedom, equality, participation and educational welfare.

Supporters of the abolition argue that the ordinance has weakened teachers' authority in classrooms, while opponents demand that the rights of students be respected in schools.