Seoul: Police are tracking down the writer behind a Japanese-language fax threatening to blow up all middle schools in Seoul, officials said Thursday, prompting schools to beef up security over the threat. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reported receiving the fax from an immigration office affiliated with the justice ministry on Wednesday afternoon.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the fax, written in Japanese, claimed it had "already installed" bombs in all middle schools in Seoul, set to detonate at 4:33 p.m. on Friday. Authorities suspect this case is similar to previous email and fax threats targeting major institutions, a string of incidents that have persisted since August 2023.
Police are currently investigating 38 cases involving similar threats, all allegedly sent by an individual claiming to be a Japanese lawyer. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education responded by convening an emergency meeting and alerting relevant schools about the threat. They advised schools to tighten entry controls for outside visitors and to increase patrols in the surrounding areas.