By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter
A lawmaker disclosed Monday a list of unionized teachers on his homepage, defying a district court ban and causing a huge stir as to the appropriateness of the move.
Rep. Cho Jeon-hyeok of the governing Grand National Party went ahead with unveiling the names and schools of the progressive teachers on www.educho.com.
Cho disclosed the names of 61,273 members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) and 160,280 members of the pro-government Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations.
At a press conference, he said there was no legal problem in releasing the list after he consulted with legal experts.
``Parents need to take part in education to reform it and all information should be clearly available to that extent,'' Cho said. ``Parents have a right to know about teacher's union activities.''
A Seoul district court granted an injunction last week banning making the list public since it might violate the rights of the unionized teachers.
Cho said the court has no basis for prohibiting him from releasing the list. ``The reference materials obtained by a lawmaker or the legislature to observe and regulate the government and its jurisdiction are not subject to court injunctions,'' he said.
The teachers' union insisted that disclosing the names of its members infringed on their basic human rights.
``Rep. Cho's qualification as an assemblyman is doubtful since he violated a court ruling,'' a KTU spokesman said. ``We will file for damages against Cho and seek further measures including criminal charges.''