High School Seniors' Return to School, Seoul Superintendent of Education "One Week Delay"... Ministry of Education "Final Deliberation Underway" (Comprehensive)

Nationwide Spread Concern of Itaewon-Origin Infection
"Final Decision After Monitoring Re-epidemic Trends"

Other City and Provincial Superintendents Share Same Opinion
Ministry of Education Collecting Opinions from Multiple Departments

Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, requested the Ministry of Education to postpone the scheduled return to school for 3rd-year high school students on the 13th and make a final decision after monitoring the situation. It is reported that some other superintendents of metropolitan and provincial offices of education have expressed the same opinion. The Ministry of Education plans to make a final decision by synthesizing opinions both for and against the additional postponement of school reopening.

On the morning of the 11th, Superintendent Cho posted on his Facebook account, "Considering the seriousness of the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), I request (the Ministry of Education) to postpone the return to school for 3rd-year high school students by one week and make a final judgment." The plan is to postpone the reopening for 3rd-year students to the 20th, then observe the trend of re-spread before rescheduling. Superintendent Cho said, "We should decide again on whether to return to school on May 20, which is two weeks after May 5, when strong social distancing measures ended, accounting for the incubation period."

It is still difficult to predict how Superintendent Cho’s request will affect the Ministry of Education’s final decision. The Ministry is currently consulting with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education on this issue. A senior official from the Ministry of Education said, "We are listening to opinions from various departments and consulting, but opinions have not yet been consolidated," adding, "We will make a decision as soon as possible, even by this afternoon."

Although there is a strong voice on the ground to postpone school reopening, especially for 3rd-year students, the burden of further delaying academic schedules is considerable. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and quarantine authorities are discussing various matters including the degree of risk based on epidemiological investigation results. The degree of risk includes the number of contacts and whether additional transmission has occurred. The Ministry of Education is carefully monitoring all risk situations, keeping multiple possibilities open, and will make a cautious judgment.

Eun-Hye Yoo, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, is speaking at the Social Relations Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Moohonam Mun.

Those who believe that school reopening can proceed as scheduled argue that the impact of infections originating from Itaewon clubs on students is limited. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an emergency disaster message advising anyone who visited clubs in the Itaewon area from the 24th of last month to the 6th of this month to refrain from going out or having contact for two weeks regardless of symptoms. Also, among the 'health status self-diagnosis' survey questions that students and staff must complete before attending school is the question, "Is there anyone in your household under self-quarantine?" In other words, if a student is exposed to risk related to the Itaewon clubs, attending school is fundamentally impossible.

On the other hand, there is also an opposing opinion that "being cautious at all costs" should come first because if even one suspected case attends school and causes a cluster infection, the repercussions would be significant. The number of signatures on the Blue House petition requesting the postponement of school reopening has exceeded 165,000 as of this day. The press conference on school reopening operation plans, which was scheduled by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education this afternoon, was also tentatively postponed. A representative from the Metropolitan Office of Education said, "We will provide guidance again in line with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Ministry of Education’s response to the COVID-19 spread trend."

Amid the uncertain situation, the Ministry of Education held the 5th Social Relations Ministers’ Meeting today. They discussed comprehensive interdepartmental support measures for a safe educational environment, including school quarantine and hygiene management in preparation for school reopening and safety on the way to and from school. After reopening, places frequently touched such as door handles and desks will be disinfected at least once a day, and a response system will be established in cooperation with public health centers and local governments in case of patients occurring within schools. Although a video conference between Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency was planned, it did not take place today.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.