Daejeon City and Related Agencies Jointly Conduct Comprehensive Survey of Unauthorized Educational Facilities

Daejeon Mayor Heo Tae-jeong (center) is holding an emergency meeting on a full survey of unauthorized alternative schools with Seol Dong-ho, Superintendent of Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education (left), and Song Jeong-ae, Chief of Daejeon Police Agency (right). Photo by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Daejeon City, in collaboration with the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education and the Daejeon Police Agency, will conduct a comprehensive survey of unauthorized facilities within the jurisdiction. This is a follow-up measure after 133 students and staff were infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at the unauthorized educational facility IEM International School, operated by the IM Mission.

According to the city on the 28th, there are currently a total of 24 unauthorized educational facilities (including religious facilities) operating in Daejeon, with approximately 2,200 people attending these facilities.

The types of facilities are classified into 10 religious facilities and 14 alternative schools for the elderly and the general public.

The city has identified that 10 of these facilities are currently closed for vacation, and 2 are conducting education online.

The day before, the city announced administrative measures requiring these facilities to comply with quarantine rules. Furthermore, the city plans to continuously monitor quarantine activities within the facilities jointly with the Office of Education and the Police Agency, while also working to identify any unauthorized facilities that have not yet been detected.

On the previous day, Mayor Heo Tae-jeong of Daejeon held an emergency meeting on this matter with Superintendent Seol Dong-ho of the Metropolitan Office of Education and Commissioner Song Jeong-ae of the Daejeon Police Agency. It is reported that the heads of each institution discussed a joint response approach rather than the government’s usual role-sharing method among related agencies.