Gwangmyeong City Convenes Emergency Meeting to Establish "Gwangmyeong Safety Team" for Child Protection

Public-Private Partnership by Region to Protect Children on Their Way to and from School
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Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province will establish the "Gwangmyeong Safety Team" (tentative name) to strengthen child protection. This decision comes as public anxiety has increased following an attempted abduction of a child returning home by a teenage high school student at an apartment complex in the city, shortly after a similar incident occurred in Seoul.

Park Seungwon, mayor of Gwangmyeong City, is holding an emergency meeting on the 10th to discuss child protection measures with key executives. Photo by Gwangmyeong City

On September 10, Mayor Park Seungwon convened an emergency meeting and stated, "Recent unfortunate incidents in our city have heightened anxiety in civil society," adding, "We will strengthen the child protection safety net by uniting the power of citizens organized around the city."

The city plans to quickly organize and launch the "Gwangmyeong Safety Team" centered on the Gwangmyeong Volunteer Center, with participation from apartment volunteer groups, parent police, the Green Mothers' Association, and the voluntary crime prevention team. The Safety Team will be responsible for reinforcing day and night patrols along the routes to and from schools and residential areas, including schools, apartment complexes, and neighborhoods, to proactively prevent crimes against children.

The city especially plans to establish the Safety Team as a permanent organization so that it can serve as a long-term and fundamental child protection network.

To this end, the city will promptly enact relevant ordinances and recruit citizens to serve as Safety Team members. Initially, the Safety Team will be organized into four regions: Gwangmyeong, Cheolsan, Haan, and Soha-Iljik.

Additionally, the city will review measures to expand infrastructure, such as increasing the number of CCTVs around schools, and will work to raise awareness of child protection through educational programs for residents and citizens.

Next week, the city will hold a follow-up meeting with relevant agencies and civic groups to discuss additional measures.