Less than 10 People Allowed for In-Person Classes in Seoul Metropolitan Area... Academies Continue to Pursue Administrative Lawsuits

Supplementary Rules for Some Hagwon and Gyoseupso
Operation for 2 Weeks from the 4th to the 17th
Hagwon Association: "Minimal Infection in Educational Facilities"

On November 30 last year, just three days before the 2021 College Scholastic Ability Test, anxiety among test-takers grew as the spread of COVID-19 showed no signs of slowing down. On that day, tension filled the academy district in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Academies in the Seoul metropolitan area, which were only allowed remote classes due to gathering bans, will be able to conduct face-to-face classes starting from the 4th.

On the 2nd, the Ministry of Education announced that the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) extended social distancing measures in the Seoul metropolitan area in response to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), and accordingly, some rules for academies and private institutes in the metropolitan area will be supplemented and implemented for two weeks from the 4th to the 17th.

According to the supplemented rules, academies and private institutes in the metropolitan area are still, in principle, subject to gathering bans. However, operation is allowed if the number of students entering the facility at the same time is fewer than 10.

However, since social distancing level 2.5 is maintained in the metropolitan area, operation of academies and private institutes is suspended from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day. Additionally, academies and private institutes must limit the number of students to one per 8㎡ or seat them with two seats apart. Eating inside academies and private institutes is also prohibited.

The Ministry of Education explained, "Most schools started their vacations at the end of last month, and the measures were supplemented considering issues such as care gaps during the vacation."

The Ministry of Education guided that academies and private institutes exempted from the gathering ban in the metropolitan area must accept unannounced inspections and post notices on their entrances stating that they agree to the gathering ban if they violate quarantine rules. Furthermore, it plans to conduct regular inspections of suspected violating facilities through illegal private education reporting centers.

The Korea Federation of Private Academies stated in a press release on the same day, "As shown in the ‘Seoul Metropolitan Cluster Status of Group Infections’ announced by Seoul City, educational facilities accounted for a very small portion of group infections in multi-use facilities," and added, "We will continue to pursue ongoing administrative lawsuits and keep raising awareness of the difficulties faced by academies."

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