The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education expressed "deep regret" regarding the Supreme Court ruling that the local government ordinance allowing the release of basic academic skills diagnostic test results for students in Seoul is valid.
On the same day, the office released a statement saying, "We express serious concern that the Supreme Court's ruling could lead to intensified competition and ranking between schools and regions as a result of publicly sharing basic academic diagnostic results."
On the same day, the first division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) dismissed the claim of the Superintendent of Education of Seoul against the Seoul Metropolitan Council regarding the verification of invalidity of the re-vote on the local government ordinance related to the support for guaranteeing basic academic skills, stating, "This ordinance does not exceed the limits of local government ordinance enactment authority and does not violate higher laws."
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education stated, "While respecting the Supreme Court ruling, we aim to minimize confusion and burden in frontline schools by sufficiently considering the purpose of the ordinance," and added, "To this end, we will closely cooperate with the Seoul Metropolitan Council and the education community to ensure that the basic academic skills guarantee policy faithfully fulfills its original purpose of providing individualized support to students."
This lawsuit stemmed from the Seoul Metropolitan Council passing the local government ordinance on March 10, 2023, which allowed the release of basic academic diagnostic results for students in Seoul. Seoul had not disclosed the results of the basic academic diagnostic tests conducted annually. As concerns grew about the increasing number of students falling below basic academic levels, the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed this ordinance.
In this regard, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education agreed with the intent of the ordinance established by the Seoul Metropolitan Council but opposed it, stating that releasing diagnostic results could lead to intensified competition and ranking among schools and regions. Consequently, on April 3 of the same year, the office requested a re-examination, citing potential legal violations; however, the council re-voted on the ordinance at a plenary session on May 3 and announced it on May 15 at the chairperson's discretion.
On May 9, 2023, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education filed a lawsuit against the ordinance with the Supreme Court, simultaneously applying for a stay of execution. The Supreme Court granted the stay of execution request on May 31, 2023, but determined that the ordinance was valid on that day.