Jeju Island Expands Safe School Program with Police Teachers

School Safety Police Officers to Be Deployed to Six High Schools This Year
Initiative to Begin in March as Part of the Education Development Special Zone Project

Jeju Island government office building exterior view.

Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will station school safety police officers at six high schools in the province starting in March to strengthen safety within schools. This measure aims to prevent various accidents that may occur on school grounds and to create a safe school environment where students, teachers, and parents can all feel secure and happy.

According to the province on the 17th, the school safety police officer system has been operated with active support from Jeju Province following a request made by Kim Kwangsoo, Jeju Superintendent of Education, to Oh Younghoon, Governor of Jeju, at the Jeju Education Administration Council in November 2023, asking for the deployment of autonomous police officers to schools.

Last year, as a pilot project, three school safety police officers were assigned to three high schools in the province. This year, the program will be expanded to assign six officers to six high schools.

School safety police officers are selected from among autonomous police officers who hold a school violence counselor certificate or have completed training as dedicated investigators for school violence. They are stationed at schools (from 7:40 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), conducting campus patrols, providing education on the prevention of school violence and juvenile crime, responding quickly to and investigating incidents of school violence, and offering counseling services.

Since the introduction of the school safety police officer system, incidents of school violence on campus have significantly decreased, and students have shown high levels of engagement, referring to the officers as 'police teachers' and seeking their counsel.

In surveys conducted by the Autonomous Police Corps in July and December last year among students, teachers, and parents, overall satisfaction with the system was high, and students, parents, and staff all agreed on the need to expand the program.

The school safety police officer system was also submitted as an exemplary case for pilot regions of the Ministry of Education's Education Development Special Zone on the 10th.

Kim Yangbo, Director of the Culture, Sports and Education Bureau, stated, "The school safety police officer system has produced positive results in preventing school violence and improving the educational environment," and added, "We will actively cooperate with the Provincial Office of Education to ensure that students can enjoy a safe and happy school life."

Meanwhile, Jeju Province was designated as a pilot region for the Education Development Special Zone starting in 2024. This year, the province secured 6.6 billion won in special grants for local issues and, together with the Jeju Provincial Office of Education, plans to implement various educational projects such as a one-student-one-sport program and the promotion of Jeju history and Jeju language.