South Korea passes law to restrict hate speech protests near schools

South Korea's National Assembly has passed a bill to curb hate speech protests near schools, a move aimed at protecting students' learning environments. The amendment to the Act on the Protection of Educational Environments, passed on Thursday, will take effect three months after its promulgation.

The new law empowers school principals to request police to prohibit or restrict outdoor gatherings and protests within a 200-meter radius of school grounds. This request can be made if a protest is deemed likely to significantly disrupt students' education. Specific grounds for such disruption include protests that discriminate against or demean individuals based on their country of origin, or those involving excessive noise, repeated profanity, or abusive language.

“

The amendment includes provisions for police and schools to cooperate in restricting hate protests.

Previously, police were not obligated to inform schools about protests in their vicinity, making it difficult to prevent disruptive demonstrations. The amendment mandates that police stations promptly notify school principals of any reported outdoor assemblies or protests within educational protection zones. Police must then act on the school's request, unless there are exceptional circumstances, and report their actions within two days.

“

School principals can request protest bans or restrictions if student learning is likely to be significantly disrupted.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Ko Min-jung of the Democratic Party last year, following concerns that hate protests near schools were harming students' mental health and their right to education. Incidents cited included hate rallies targeting Chinese migrants near a school in Guro District, Seoul, and protests demanding the removal of statues commemorating victims of Japanese military sexual slavery, known as 'comfort women,' near schools.

The Ministry of Education and provincial education offices will collaborate with the police to ensure the police can access the educational environment information system to verify protest locations. This legislative change seeks to create a safer and more conducive learning atmosphere for students across South Korea.

“

The law aims to prevent protests targeting specific nationalities or groups, such as anti-China demonstrations or rallies calling for the removal of comfort women statues, from disturbing students.