– On September 24, 2025, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) held a roundtable at Korea Yukyoung School in Songpa-gu with parents and relevant agencies.

– The participants discussed comprehensive solutions, including securing classrooms for the postsecondary vocational program.

To address the collective grievances raised by parents seeking improvements to the educational environment at a special-education school for students with developmental disabilities, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) visited Korea Yukyoung School in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on September 24, 2025, and heard the views of parents and relevant agencies.

Korea Yukyoung School*, established in 1993 to support the independence and social adaptation of students with developmental disabilities, is the only special-education school in Songpa-gu and currently enrolls 189 students with developmental disabilities in 29 classes.

* Korea Yukyoung School: Kindergarten (1 class), Elementary (12 classes), Middle (6 classes), High (6 classes), Post secondary vocational program (4 classes)

Although the school added two classes to its postsecondary vocational program in 2011, delays in budget allocation have resulted in instruction taking place in classrooms with a floor area smaller than the minimum standard. In addition, facilities such as the vocational-training room, special-purpose classrooms, and the nurse’s office have fallen below the minimum standard floor area, leaving students with developmental disabilities studying in substandard conditions.

Since 2012, parents at Korea Yukyoung School have filed numerous civil petitions with the competent offices of education, requesting improvements to the educational environment, but these were not accepted. Accordingly, in June 2025, 3,260 parents and others from Korea Yukyoung School submitted a collective civil complaint to the ACRC requesting improvements to the educational environment for students with developmental disabilities.

After personally visiting the school and inspecting the facilities, Chairperson Ryu Chul-whan listened to the grievances of students with developmental disabilities and their parents and explored reasonable solutions at a meeting attended by officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the Songpa District Council, the Seoul Gangdong–Songpa Office of Education, and Korea Yukyoung School.

Chairperson Ryu Chul-whan stated, “Through the September 24 roundtable, we will work with the relevant agencies to devise measures at an early date to improve the educational environment so that students with developmental disabilities can learn without discrimination.” He added, “Going forward, the ACRC will continue to make sustained efforts to resolve the grievances of vulnerable groups in need of compassionate protection.”