At a boarding school in Daejeon, run by a mission, 127 students and faculty members were diagnosed with coronavirus. This boarding school was in the blind spot of the educational authorities because it was unlicensed, and there are 15 more boarding schools nationwide run by this mission.
Reporter Kim Hyung-rae reports.
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This is the IM Mission building in Jung-gu, Daejeon.
At the IEM International School run by this mission, 127 people were diagnosed with Corona 19 until yesterday (24th).
Previously, two students of this school went to homes in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do and Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the weekend, and were confirmed as positive. As a result of additional tests of 146 students and faculty members at the facility, Daejeon City confirmed that 125 were positive.
This facility is a boarding school in which students live 24 hours a day, and it is operated without authorization, so the educational authorities could not know in advance.
[허태정/대전광역시장 : 당사자의 진술에 의해 파악된 것에 의하면, 1월 15일까지 학생들이 입교한 후에 현재까지는 외부 출입, 또는 부모 면담은 없었던 걸로 (파악됐습니다.)]
The problem is that this mission was operating an educational facility called TCS International School in 15 places including Seoul, Busan, and Jeonnam, and until recently held an admissions presentation with parents from all over the country.
[TCS국제학교 관계자 (입학 설명회 영상) : TCS국제학교란, 저희가 IM선교회라는 단체의 아래에 있는 건 다 알고 오셨을 거라고 생각합니다.]
In some of these facilities, several teachers and students did not follow the quarantine regulations, such as shouting slogans in a crowd without wearing masks properly.
Daejeon City announced that it would conduct a thorough investigation on these unauthorized educational facilities in consultation with the Office of Education.