By Lee Kyung-min
A local court ordered Chongshin University in Seoul, a Christian school, Monday, to reinstate an assistant professor it dismissed last year for expressing different religious views in his dissertation.
The university filed a suit to nullify the Appeal Commission for Teachers’ (ACT) order to rehire the professor surnamed Sung.
The Seoul Administrative Court, however, ruled against the school and ordered it to reinstate Sung
In May of last year, the university terminated a contract with Sung after an internal committee determined that his dissertation contained an agenda supporting the World Council of Churches (WWC), with which it has been at odds over the years.
Unlike a Presbyterian faction the university belongs to, the WWC is known for its more inclusive stance in accepting other religions such as Catholicism and Buddhism. It also recognizes the rights of homosexuals.
Upon his dismissal, Sung filed a petition with the ACT demanding reinstatement.
ACT granted his request and ordered his reinstatement, saying the school abused its authority in dismissing Sung for not complying with the university’s religious factional stance.
The university refused to accept the decision and filed suit with the administrative court.
The court said it is inappropriate for universities to dismiss employees on grounds that they failed to comply with the university’s philosophical orientation.
“Arbitrary, wrongful terminations are highly likely if employers are allowed to apply such subjective standards,” Judge Kim Kyung-ran said in a ruling. “For such grounds to serve as an objective standard, his dissertation writings, including content that allegedly were against the university’s stance, should have been more recognizably obvious to disinterested parties.”