Education authorities and schools have launched an emergency response after part of a dismembered body was found at a recycling facility in Incheon. With police not ruling out the possibility that the victim could be a student, schools are working to confirm the whereabouts of absent students.
According to the education sector Monday, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency sent an emergency official letter the previous day to all elementary, middle and high schools and special schools in the Incheon area, requesting cooperation with the investigation. Through the letter, police requested the submission of lists of students absent and long-term absentees on the 10th and 11th.
The measure followed the discovery on the 10th of part of a body, presumed to be a human leg, at the Southern Regional Living Resource Recovery Center in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. The discovered body part measured more than 40 centimeters from below the left knee to the heel and was reportedly entirely wrapped in bandages.
Based on factors such as the foot size of around 210 to 220 millimeters, police are conducting identity verification work while leaving open the possibility that the victim could be a young student or a woman.
Schools are also on edge. A teacher at an elementary school in Ganghwa-gun said, "We had an absent student, so we immediately contacted the parents to confirm the whereabouts," adding, "It was confirmed that the student is traveling abroad." A teacher at an elementary school in Yeonsu-gu also said, "The victim's identity has not yet been confirmed, but the possibility that it is a student has been raised, so schools are also closely watching the situation."
The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education delivered an official letter and related manual to each district education support office and school that day, requesting strengthened management of students with unexcused absences. A city education office official said, "As of now, no unusual cases have been identified among students with unexcused absences," adding, "We plan to actively cooperate with the police investigation."
