South Korea Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Student Demanding Freedom Not to Attend Mandatory Religion Classes

April 2010 – Seoul
Submitted by Joseph Hepworth 

On 22 April 2010, the South Korea Supreme Court ruled in favor of a student who accused his former high school of violating his religious freedom by forcing him to attend religious events, according to news reports from South Korea. A former student who had been assigned by a lottery system to attend a private Christian high school objected to the school’s requirement that he attend religious events. The Court ruled that not giving the student an opportunity to choose an alternative to attending the events violated the student’s right to religious freedom. Although the South Korean legal system does not follow the principle of stare decisis, the lower courts tend to follow the legal interpretations of the Supreme Court of South Korea in practice.

Source:  The Korea Herald