Emergency Council Meeting of 17 Metropolitan and Provincial Superintendents to Be Held on the 12th
Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, announced on the 11th regarding the incident in Daejeon where a first-grade student was fatally stabbed by a teacher, stating, "We will promptly announce measures to ensure that students can learn and live in a safe environment."
The Deputy Prime Minister expressed, "I extend my deepest condolences for the elementary school student's death that occurred yesterday in Daejeon, and offer heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved family who must be experiencing great shock and pain."
He has canceled most of his major scheduled events for the day, including a planned speech at the National Assembly negotiation group, focusing instead on emergency meetings and preparing countermeasures.
In the morning, he met with the Superintendent of Education of Daejeon to share the situation, and on the 12th, an emergency council meeting will be held with superintendents from 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education to discuss response plans.
Each metropolitan and provincial office of education also held emergency meetings on the same day to inspect safety conditions.
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education plans to conduct comprehensive safety inspections, including in after-school care classrooms, and prepare countermeasures.
Jung Geun-sik, Superintendent of Education of Seoul, posted on Facebook in the afternoon regarding the incident, saying, "I am deeply saddened by this tremendous shock," and "I offer my deepest condolences to the bereaved family enduring such tragic pain." Superintendent Jung added, "Schools must be the safest and happiest educational communities," and "We will make every possible effort with serious reflection to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."
According to the education sector and others, around 6 p.m. the previous day, a female teacher in her 40s stabbed and killed a first-grade female student with a weapon inside an elementary school building in Gwanjeo-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon. It is known that the teacher had taken a leave of absence due to depression and returned to work in December of last year.
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