Alumni of Muhak Girls' High School in Seongdong District, Seoul, who have raised their voices against the push to convert the school to coeducation, warned Seoul Superintendent Jung Keun-sik that they will pursue legal action unless the plan is scrapped.
The "Emergency committee opposing the conversion of Muhak Girls' High School to coeducation" (hereafter the committee) said this after holding a closed-door meeting of about an hour with Superintendent Jung on the 20th and then speaking with reporters.
At the meeting, the committee said Muhak Girls' High School and the education office pushed through the coed change without going through a process to gather opinions from current students and alumni, thereby losing procedural legitimacy.
It also criticized that they coordinated the coed conversion by meeting only with National Assembly member Jun Hyun-hee for the district, education office officials, and the principal, saying, "The fate of the school was effectively decided in a closed-door meeting of non-stakeholders, while the actual stakeholders were thoroughly excluded."
They added, "Muhak Girls' High School is not simply an old school but a precious educational asset that has carried on the history and tradition of women's education in the Republic of Korea," and emphasized, "The school's identity and educational philosophy should not be changed by an administrative judgment made in an instant."
In response, Superintendent Jung tried to persuade the alumni by specifically pointing out the reality that the number of incoming students to Muhak Girls' High School is steadily declining, the strong voices of local residents who want a larger, tradition-rich school, and the difficulty of running the high school credit system that broadens elective subjects.
Earlier, Muhak Girls' High School, judging that normal school operations were difficult due to a declining student population, submitted an application to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education asking to allow boys to enroll starting in the 2027 academic year. After the news broke, alumni of Muhak Girls' High School formed the committee to convey their opposition to the school while continuing protest rallies in various locations, including around the education office.