Education Office Orders Enhanced Safety Guidance, Preventive Education, and Identity Verification
Police Apprehend Three Suspects in Child Abduction Attempt
After an attempted abduction of an elementary school student in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul was confirmed to be true, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has once again urged schools and parents to exercise caution.
According to the education sector on September 5, the Seobu District Office of Education under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education sent an official notice to local elementary schools the previous day titled "Safety Education and Response Methods for Preventing Student Abductions." The notice included measures such as ▲strengthening safety guidance during arrival and dismissal times ▲conducting preventive education ▲requesting parental cooperation ▲and increasing patrols.
The Seobu District Office of Education especially emphasized, "For lower-grade students or those commuting to and from school alone, we recommend that a guardian accompany them and that the identity of guardians or representatives be thoroughly verified." The office also instructed, "Re-examine the control of outsiders entering the school through the 'parent name tag system,' and immediately report any suspicious situations, such as attempted abductions, to the district office of education or the police."
Each elementary school is expected to send home a newsletter containing abduction prevention guidelines and requests for parental cooperation in accordance with these instructions. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also plans to implement additional measures to prevent recurrence at the city level.
Meanwhile, police apprehended three individuals at the end of last month who attempted to abduct a child near an elementary school in Seodaemun-gu. On September 4, the Seodaemun Police Station announced that the suspects were urgently arrested on charges of attempted abduction and enticement, and that arrest warrants were requested for two of them.
The school had previously notified parents in a newsletter dated September 1 that, over the weekend, men in a white car approached children and offered to take them home, indicating an attempted abduction. Although police initially found no clear evidence during their investigation, after receiving an additional similar report on September 2, they expanded the investigation, identified the vehicle used in the crime, and belatedly confirmed that an attempted abduction had indeed occurred.
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