Home > National > Social Affairs

Korean human rights commission 'phone confiscation in schools not a violation'

Published: 09 Oct. 2024, 14:03 Updated: 09 Oct. 2024, 19:17

KIM MIN-YOUNG
[email protected]

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea [YONHAP]

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has reversed its decade-long stance with a new opinion that confiscating students’ mobile phones in schools does not violate their human rights.

At its plenary session on Monday, the commission rejected a complaint filed by a high school student in South Jeolla, voting eight to two in favor of dismissal. The student argued that the practice of collecting mobile phones upon arrival at school infringes on their human rights.

This decision marks a significant shift from the commission’s previous rulings. Since November 2014, the commission has considered around 300 complaints and recognized that withholding mobile phones violates students’ human rights.

The student who filed the complaint at that time contended that dormitory regulations requiring students submit their mobile phones on Monday mornings and collect them on Friday afternoons constituted a violation of their rights.

The commission previously ruled such regulations infringed on students' freedom of action and communication, which are part of the constitutional right to pursue happiness.

However, the recent decision determined that the harm to teachers' authority and students' right to learn that could result from conflicts and disciplinary issues arising from mobile phone use was greater than the rights' infringement that might arise from allowing mobile phone use. The commission also said that students who were overly immersed in their phones often struggled to interact properly with their peers.

Supporters of the dismissal argued that allowing phone use during breaks could engender conflict, significantly infringing on both teachers' and students' right to education. They also claimed that excessive mobile phone use undermines students' development by reducing their interaction with one another.

A teacher collects mobile phones in a first-year classroom at Dongsan High School in Daejeon in September last year. [NEWS1]

Opponents of the dismissal referenced an investigative report suggesting the need to amend the rule regarding mobile phone collection. The report argued that the school's regulation, which mandates the uniform submission of mobile phones without considering alternatives — such as voluntary submission by students — excessively restricts freedom of communication.

Some advocates asserted that mobile phones are not merely communication devices but also "tools for creating, maintaining and developing social relationships," making autonomous control preferable.

The school involved in the petition stated that the opinions of students, parents and teachers were gathered through a survey, indicating that mobile phone confiscation was undertaken with collective consent. The school also said that mobile phone use was allowed during breaks and lunchtime to minimize restrictions on basic rights.

The "2023 Global Education Monitoring" report released by Unesco in July last year was also cited as a reason for the commission's decision. The report recommended that schools limit smartphone use to prevent confusion, learning setbacks and cyberbullying.

Internationally, there is a growing consensus that mobile phones disrupt students' education, leading to regulations. Recently, France designated 200 middle schools as pilot sites where mobile phone use is banned. In May, New Zealand banned mobile phone use in all primary and secondary schools nationwide.

In the United States, Florida passed a law barring mobile phone use in public schools during class time in May 2023. In September of that year, Orange County took it a step further by banning smartphone use for the entire school day. On Sept. 23, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring every school district, charter school and county office of education to develop a policy limiting smartphone use by July 1, 2026.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]