The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on September 11 that it will issue an "Emergency School Bell" starting September 12 to prevent further incidents, following a series of abduction and luring crimes targeting elementary school students.
The Emergency School Bell is an online system established in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. It will send unified notifications via text messages and application alerts to 780,000 parents of students at 1,373 elementary, middle, and high schools in the Seoul area.
This alert includes details of two recent abduction and luring crimes, as well as one voice phishing case. It also provides parents with response guidelines, such as how children should react when approached by strangers, instructions on reporting to 112, safe routes to and from school, and preventive measures against voice phishing.
The police plan to strengthen patrols along school routes and will take a zero-tolerance approach to crimes against children, including arrest and strict investigation.
Park Hyunsoo, acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "Abduction and luring crimes targeting children are heinous offenses that create anxiety throughout society. We will prevent recurrence through intensive patrols and strict enforcement so that citizens can feel safe."
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