Schools to install security cameras

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Schools to install security cameras

The government plans to spend 41.5 billion won ($34.2 million) to install surveillance cameras at 5,843 elementary schools across the country.

The footage will be monitored 24 hours a day to protect schoolchildren from sexual predators, the Education Ministry said yesterday.

The move came following the brutal rape of an 8-year-old girl who was abducted from her school playground by a 45-year-old man on June 7. The crime drew a furious public reaction, with parents and educators demanding protective measures for children.

As of this month, only 3,439 elementary schools, or 58 percent of the entire number across the country, have surveillance cameras operating at their facilities.

“We will install closed-circuit cameras in all elementary schools, which will be monitored by faculty members and janitors around the clock,” Education Minister Ahn Byung-man told lawmakers yesterday.

The government will also install security door systems at some 500 public elementary schools across the country.

The doors will allow anyone inside the school to exit, but will require a PIN that will be given only to faculty members and school administrators for entry.

By Jung Ha-won [awon@joongang.co.kr]
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