This July 2020 file photo shows the building of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea in Seoul. In a statement released on Wednesday, the commission urged an international school in Jeju to change its strict uniform policy. Courtesy of National Human Rights Commission of Korea

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea urged an international school in Jeju to change its strict uniform policy, saying it violates the students' rights to self-determination.

In a statement released Wednesday, the commission said applying the same rules regarding what to wear regardless of weather conditions is the principal's excessive exercise of authority that could limit students' basic rights enshrined in the Constitution and a United Nations treaty.

This decision comes after a student at the school that follows the British curriculum filed a complaint last year, saying the school's uniform policy violates his human rights.

The student said he was forced to take off a coat worn over his uniform jacket despite the cold weather on Feb. 16, 2023. In another incident later that year, he said he was told to keep wearing his summer uniform jacket during school hours even when it was very hot.

The principal said the policy was included in the school regulations that all of its students must comply with. The principal added that teachers try to keep the temperatures at proper levels with air conditioning and heating systems.

The commission acknowledged that each school can have its own education system, including its own dress code, but it said the rules should be consistent with the spirit of the Constitution, which stipulates that all citizens have the right to pursue happiness.

"Students are autonomous and responsible exercisers of their basic rights. By this standard, imposing uniform rules on all students without considering other ways to minimize the restriction of their rights is an excessive use of authority," the commission said.

It noted the uniform policy may also violate the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says all children have the right to freedom of expression and privacy, among other rights.

The commission said forcing students to follow the same dress code infringes on the fundamental rights to self-determination and health, calling on the school to find a reasonable solution to the issue through talks with parents and students.