The Constitutional Court yesterday ruled that ordinances restricting night-time operation of private cram schools, or hagwon, are constitutional.
In August and October last year, people in Seoul and Busan filed petitions to the Constitutional Court, contending that the ordinances infringed on their educational rights.
"The legislative purpose of the ordinances is to secure time for students to sleep and rest, and ease the economic burden for parents by normalizing school education, and that purpose is just," said the court in its ruling.
"They cannot be seen as inordinately restricting their fundamental rights."
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Four justices of the total nine said that the ordinances are unconstitutional on the grounds that students cannot study when they want due to the time restriction, and possible financial disadvantages inflicted on hagwon operators.
Regarding the arguments by the petitioners that different operation hours in municipalities nationwide could be discriminatory, the court said it is "inevitable" as the Constitution recognizes each municipality`s legislative right.
The ordinances set by municipalities in Seoul and Busan allow hagwon to operate between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. In Busan, hagwon for high-school students are allowed to remain open until 11 p.m. In Gwangju and Incheon, hagwon for high-school students can stay open until midnight.
Such edicts had been rarely observed until the government began toughening its crackdown on hagwon in their fight against private education.
The government has, since July, financially rewarded those who report on hagwon contravening rules on hours of operation, operating without proper registration and charging excessive fees, and unregistered private tutors.
The Education Ministry is seeking to encourage all municipalities to ban the operation of hagwon after 10 p.m., sources said.
According to government data, a total of 717 cases, in which hagwon violated rules on operation hours, were reported last year. The cases that occurred in Seoul accounted for 83 percent, the data showed.
(sshluck@heraldcorp.com)

By Song Sang-ho