Seocho-gu, Designates Korea's First Block-Type No-Smoking Zone

Designating a 'block-type' no-smoking zone including side streets beyond main roads on Dongjak-daero and Bangbaecheon Overpass Road (Sadang Station to Isu Station)... Three smoking areas for smokers will also be installed within the no-smoking zone

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Jo Eun-hee) announced that it has designated the section of Dongjak-daero and Bangbaecheon Covered Road as the nation's first "block-type non-smoking zone."

The designated section includes a 640m pedestrian section of Dongjak-daero under the district’s jurisdiction from Sadang Station to Isu Station, and the adjacent Bangbaecheon Covered Road of 940m, covering an area of approximately 32,700㎡.

Among these, the 240m pedestrian section of Dongjak-daero in front of Namtaeryeong Police Substation from Sadang Station was already designated and operated as a non-smoking zone in 2016.

The district conducted on-site surveys and resident questionnaires for two months starting in March, and officially designated and announced the area as a non-smoking zone on April 29 this year.

After a three-month grace period, strict enforcement will begin on July 30, with a fine of 50,000 KRW imposed for violations. The Dongjak-daero and Bangbaecheon Covered Road sections are densely populated with restaurants and office buildings, attracting many smokers, and there had been numerous requests from nearby residents for the designation of a non-smoking zone.

Additionally, in the “Survey on Non-Smoking Zone Designation,” 73% of respondents reported experiencing harm from secondhand smoke, and 86% supported the designation of the non-smoking zone.

The newly designated block-type non-smoking zone breaks away from the traditional designation of non-smoking zones mainly along main roads, by grouping the sidewalks of main roads and surrounding side streets into a block-type zone. This is expected to enhance the effectiveness of the non-smoking zone designation and prevent the balloon effect of smokers moving into side streets.

Previously, no smoking areas were designated within existing non-smoking zones, causing dissatisfaction among smokers. However, within this block-type non-smoking zone, three smoking areas have been designated to alleviate smokers’ complaints while preventing them from moving into side streets, aiming for efficient operation of the non-smoking zone.

All smoking areas (booths) within the designated section are open-type and will be installed and operated accordingly. Besides the already installed one location (12 Bangbaecheon-ro, in front of Pastel City), the other two locations (438-38 Bangbae-dong green area and in front of 34 Bangbaecheon-ro) were selected as optimal sites with no secondhand smoke harm, based on various opinions from nearby residents, and installation is scheduled to be completed in May.

Since 2012, the district has led non-smoking policies by designating Gangnam-daero as a non-smoking street for the first time nationwide and designating a 10m non-smoking zone around daycare centers and kindergartens.

In particular, the designation of a 10m non-smoking zone around daycare centers and kindergartens in Seocho-gu became the basis for adding this provision to the National Health Promotion Act.

Expanding on this, in July 2019, Seocho-gu became the first in the nation to designate a 10m non-smoking zone within school boundaries and operated a non-smoking coaching group composed of local parents, focusing on preventing secondhand smoke exposure among children and adolescents.

The district has also taken the lead in balanced non-smoking policies, including the installation of line-type smoking areas, smoking booths, and Seocho-style cigarette butt collection bins.

Especially for open-type smoking booths, to prevent COVID-19 infection, the Seocho Disinfection Team conducts weekly regular disinfection, and notices are posted to ensure compliance with COVID-19 prevention measures during smoking, such as “maintain distance without facing each other,” “do not talk,” and “no spitting.”

Jo Eun-hee, Mayor of Seocho-gu, stated, “By taking a step beyond the existing fragmented non-smoking zone designations and designating the nation’s first block-type non-smoking zone, we will enhance the effectiveness of non-smoking zones and create a leading non-smoking environment to realize a smoke-free Seocho.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.