Wave of bomb threats against schools sparks nationwide concern

Incheon high school targeted by three consecutive bomb threats

Daein High School in Incheon (Yonhap)

The Incheon school that temporarily closed on Wednesday after three consecutive days of online bomb threats resumed classes Thursday, as police continue to investigate a wave of similar threats reported at schools nationwide.

Police said a Wednesday post claiming to have planted explosives at a high school located in Seo-gu, Incheon, was made to a 119 safety-reporting center at about 7:43 a.m. This led the school's decision to send home around 930 students. Police searched the school and found no explosives.

Investigators determined the threatening post was uploaded via a server located overseas, and the probe is ongoing.

Authorities said similar threats were posted Monday and Tuesday. In one post, the author threatened to return to the school at 11 a.m. to brandish a knife and set off a bomb. Another post said the attacker had been thwarted by police but would try again.

The Incheon case follows other recent school threats.

On Oct. 13, police received an email claiming that a suspect had planted explosives made of carbon peroxide and acetone at Sogang University. Similar emails were also sent to Korea University and Yonsei University earlier this month.

On the same day, a threatening email claiming bombs had been placed in four middle and high schools in Gwangju was sent to authorities, while a similar online post appeared in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. No explosives were found in those incidents, police said.