The Seoul city government said on the 11th that starting next year it will provide the "elementary safety bell" to all 1st- to 6th-grade elementary school students. Previously it was given only to 1st and 2nd graders, but the program is being expanded to all grades.
The elementary safety bell is a type of safety device that emits an alarm. Like a key ring, it is attached to a school bag, and in an emergency, pressing the black button on the back produces a sound of more than 100 dB. This is said to be about the level of a car horn audible from 50 to 70 meters away.
Seoul is taking this step in response to a series of crimes targeting children, such as attempted kidnappings of elementary school students. Recently, there have been successive kidnapping attempts targeting elementary school students in Seodaemun-gu in Seoul, Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi Province, and Seogwipo in Jeju. According to the Seoul city government, serious crimes against children under 13 increased 13%, from 1,514 cases in 2019 to 1,704 in 2023. During the same period, kidnapping cases rose 48%, from 138 to 204.
The number of elementary school students eligible for the safety bell this time is 247,000. Once the support is in place, all 360,000 elementary school students in Seoul will receive the elementary safety bell.
This year, the Seoul city government plans to conduct a demand survey for the elementary safety bell across all elementary schools in the city.
In addition, the Seoul city government decided to expand distribution of the Safe Help Me device, which is similar to the elementary safety bell. Following the distribution of 50,000 units last year, an additional 100,000 will be provided in the second half of this year. Safe Help Me is also attached to a bag in daily life, and in an emergency, pressing the emergency report button triggers an alarm. At the same time the button is pressed, it connects to the district's closed-circuit (CC) TV control center. The control center checks the CCTV and, if necessary, requests a police dispatch.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said, "I hope that using the alarm system not only allows vulnerable people to protect themselves, but also enables those nearby to provide immediate help to prevent harm."