By Kim Se-jeong
All 1,366 female school teachers and public servants living in remote areas will get smart watches that will let them summon help should they be attacked, the government said, Wednesday.
The Ministry of Education also said it will install automated door locks, surveillance cameras and security bars on the windows of their residences.
The announcement was in response to a rape case last month on Heuksan Island in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, in which three residents including students' parents sexually assaulted a female teacher in her 20s.
The new measures came after the ministry inspected working conditions for female employees in the public sector. The inspection found 4,274 women worked in remote regions such as islands. Among them, 3,946 were living in employer-provided housing, and 1,366 of them were living alone without relatives or colleagues.
Only 9.2 percent of the employer-provided residences had an automated door lock system, and only 29.8 percent had security bars over windows. Only 16 percent of employer-provided housing was equipped with surveillance cameras.
The ministry said it would install automated door locks and security bars in all the residences by the end of August.
The female workers will receive smart watches by the end of this month. When a woman feels threatened she can press a button on the watch, which will send an alert message to three pre-designated police officers.
The police manual will also be changed to speed up responses to such alerts.
The ministry said it will also push for revision of the relevant law, mandating school safety measures. The current law doesn't require schools to inspect safety conditions for their employees.
Over the long term, the ministry will establish housing that can be shared by several workers in one region, such as teachers and workers at public health centers and post offices, providing safety in numbers.
Apart from hardware changes, the ministry said it will push compulsory education to villagers on preventing sexual violence.
In last month's case, two offenders were fathers of the victim's students, and families of the suspects and their neighbors defended their action, petitioning the court to ask for leniency. The three were indicted on June 10 on charges of sexual assault and home intrusion.
Immediately after the incident, the ministry initially considered refraining from posting young female teachers to remote areas. But the idea was scrapped after drawing strong criticism for being shortsighted.
Korean Language
'섬마을 여교사는 무섭다' 관사 안전관리 취약
인천 여교사 1인 거주 관사 CCTV 14%·방범창 32%만 설치
전남 섬마을 여교사 성폭행 사건 이후 교육 당국이 섬이 많은 인천의 관사 관리 실태를 긴급 점검한 결과 안전이 취약한 것으로 드러났다.
22일 인천시교육청에 따르면 인천의 도서벽지 전체 관사 112동 가운데 여성 1인 거주 관사 22동을 점검한 결과 폐쇄회로(CC)TV가 설치된 건물은 3곳(14%)에 불과했다.
방범창이 없는 여교사 1인 거주 관사도 15곳(68%)에 달했다.
무인경비시스템을 갖춘 관사는 1곳(3%)뿐이고 비상벨이 설치된 곳은 한곳도 없었다.
인천교육청은 교육부와 협의해 이달 말까지 여성 1인 거주 관사 출입구에 CCTV를 설치하고 자동잠금장치와 방범창을 설치한다.
도서벽지에 혼자 사는 여성 근무자 전원에게 이달 안에 스마트워치를 보급하기로 했다.
스마트워치에 달린 긴급 버튼을 누르면 112상황실에 자동 신고되며 담당 경찰관 등 미리 지정된 3명에게 긴급 상황을 알리는 문자가 발송된다.
인천교육청은 여교사를 대상으로 성폭력 예방·대응요령 교육을 강화하고 지방자치단체, 경찰서와 관사 안전시설을 합동 점검하기로 했다.
현재 인천의 도서벽지 관사에 거주하는 교사는 총 434명이고 이 중 관사에 혼자 사는 여교사는 32명이다. (연합뉴스)