The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has announced plans to raise the share of Seoul elementary schools designated as child protection zones from less than 20 percent to 95 percent or more by 2029. Pictured is an elementary school in Guro-gu. [Herald Business DB]
The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has announced plans to raise the share of Seoul elementary schools designated as child protection zones from less than 20 percent to 95 percent or more by 2029. Pictured is an elementary school in Guro-gu. [Herald Business DB]

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it will raise the share of Seoul elementary schools designated as child protection zones from less than 20 percent to 95 percent or more by 2029, expanding CCTV coverage and crime-prevention patrols to strengthen safety along students' routes to and from school.

Under the Child Welfare Act, a child protection zone covers a 500-meter radius from the outer boundary of an elementary school, kindergarten or special school. Within designated zones, authorities install CCTV cameras and police conduct crime-prevention patrols and child-safety activities.

Unlike school zones, which focus on vehicle speed limits and traffic-safety infrastructure, child protection zones are designed to shield students' daily lives from crimes such as kidnapping and violence.

Of Seoul's 606 elementary schools, 117 are currently designated as child protection zones, a rate of 19.3 percent. The office plans to add 35 schools this year, bringing the cumulative total to 152, then expand to 243 schools in 2027, 425 in 2028, and 576 or more in 2029.

The initiative will initially focus on 233 undesignated elementary schools in the 10 districts — Gangbuk, Guro-gu, Nowon, Seodaemun, Seocho, Seongdong, Yeongdeungpo, Eunpyeong, Jung and Jungnang-gu — that already have child protection zone ordinances in force, before expanding to the 15 districts that have yet to enact such ordinances.

The office will support schools through the entire designation process, including needs assessments, application preparation, submission to district offices and coordination with relevant agencies. It has also secured 277 million won ($184,000) in special grants from the Ministry of Education this year to fund CCTV installation within the zones.

The office also plans to propose amendments to the Child Welfare Act to establish a legal basis for local governments to enact child protection zone ordinances and for education offices to subsidize CCTV installation costs, aiming to reduce disparities in how the zones are operated across districts.

Working with district offices and police, the office will designate protection zones based on crime data and step up CCTV monitoring and patrols during school commute hours. It will also continue operating child safety shelters and running safety campaigns through roughly 2,900 CU convenience stores across Seoul under an existing MOU.

"Expanding child protection zones is not simply about increasing the number of designated areas — it is about extending the student safety net beyond school grounds to cover all of Seoul," Seoul Superintendent of Education Jeong Geun-sik said. "We will work to close safety gaps between neighborhoods and build an integrated safety system that connects the inside and outside of schools."


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