Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Holds Meeting with Related Agencies on 'School Zone Accidents' to Discuss Safety Measures

Students are going to school at an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education recently discussed safety measures with related agencies regarding a traffic accident that occurred in front of an elementary school in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

On the 13th, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that a meeting to strengthen student traffic safety measures was held at the gymnasium of Eonbuk Elementary School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, attended by Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon, Gangnam District Mayor Cho Sung-myung, and officials from the Gangnam Police Station. Parents attending the meeting requested the district office and police station to immediately designate the area around the school as a comprehensive one-way street and to establish vehicle traffic prohibition zones during school arrival and dismissal times. They also demanded strict enforcement against parking and stopping within the school zone and requested the relocation of utility poles obstructing visibility near the back gate.

The Office of Education asked related agencies to create a raised intersection (an elevated intersection) near the school’s back gate, where traffic volume is high and the slope is steep, or to pave the roadway with cube-shaped stones (sagwaeseok) to encourage vehicles to slow down. Additionally, they decided to promptly implement safety measures within the scope of the Office of Education’s authority, such as relocating the main gate. Ham Hye-sung, Director of the Gangnam-Seocho Education Support Office in Seoul, stated, "There were concerns that the sidewalk was interrupted and dangerous due to the main gate pillars, so we decided to move the school gate inward. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately after the winter vacation starts."

Earlier, on the 2nd of this month, a third-grade student who was leaving school after after-school classes was struck and killed by a drunk driver in the school zone in front of Eonbuk Elementary School. The road where the accident occurred was a narrow 'shared road for vehicles and pedestrians' without sidewalks. Gangnam District decided to designate the road in front of the back gate where the accident occurred as a one-way street. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education also plans to conduct safety inspections of all school zones near elementary schools in the district from January to June next year by commissioning the Road Traffic Authority and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

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