[Anchor]

Paejae High School has allowed its students to wear casual clothes instead of their uniforms following intense backlash against its baseball team for chanting slogans that disparaged a specific region. The school took this measure to protect students from potential harm simply for attending the school and has also decided to implement history education for the entire student body.

Reporter Jo Yoon-ha has the story.

[Reporter]

It has been four days since the baseball team caused a stir with inappropriate cheering slogans during a game against Gwangju Jeil High School.

As of yesterday, July 2, funeral wreaths were lined up in front of Paejae High School once again.

The wreaths included critical messages such as "Democracy is dead," as well as supportive wreaths sent by far-right groups. Although the school had previously cleared them away following complaints from parents and others, deliveries have continued.

[Wreath Delivery Driver: In the morning, they were congratulatory. (And now?) Funeral wreaths. (You don't know who sent them, right?) I have no idea.]

The school decided to allow students to wear casual clothes, fearing that those wearing Paejae High School uniforms could face harassment, verbal abuse, or mockery while commuting to and from school.

[Paejae High School Official: Because (the students) are being mocked. They are being ridiculed on buses and subways. These students really don't know anything about it. We have over 1,300 students...]

[Paejae High School Student: On online communities, people are saying things like, all the academies are in front of Godeok Station, but now they are telling us not to come to Godeok...]

In addition, the school announced that it would conduct history education for all students.

The plan is to provide this education to all students, not just the baseball team members involved in the controversy over disparaging the May 18 Democratization Movement, before the summer break begins.

[Paejae High School Official: We are recruiting about 20 instructors to provide thorough education, with one instructor assigned to each class and grade level...]

The school plans to hold a disciplinary committee meeting around next Wednesday, after final exams conclude, to investigate the incident. The committee is expected to look into who first started the so-called "Starbucks cheering slogan" and whether the other baseball team members followed along spontaneously.

Gwangju Jeil High School, which previously declined a visit from Paejae High School stating they were not yet ready to accept an apology, will soon hold a meeting with its principal and baseball team members to discuss whether to accept a formal apology visit.

(Video reporting: Lee Sang-hak, Video editing: Jung Sung-hoon)