No Smoking Zones on School Commute Routes in All Schools of Yongsan-gu

District designates additional smoke-free zones on routes to 31 schools: 12 elementary, 8 middle, 9 high, 1 special, and 1 accredited high school... After 5-month guidance period, enforcement starts March 1 next year with a 100,000 KRW fine for violations

No Smoking Zone pavement sign installed on the school route to Yonggang Middle School in Ichon 1-dong

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjanghyun) designated some parts of the school routes of 31 schools in the area (6,328m) as smoke-free zones as of the 8th.

In effect, almost all school routes in the area have become smoke-free zones.

The 31 schools are divided into 12 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 9 high schools, 1 special school, and 1 high school equivalency school. The designated areas can be checked on the district website under the announcements/notices section.

The district will continue an advisory period for about five months until February 28 next year. Enforcement will begin on March 1 next year. A fine of 100,000 KRW will be imposed if smoking is detected within the smoke-free zones.

From the 26th to the 30th, the district plans to deploy 18 personnel including 4 enforcement officers, 12 smoke-free guides, and 2 Hope Work participants to conduct a smoke-free zone awareness campaign.

Additionally, by November, smoke-free zone floor signs will be installed at the start, middle, and end points of the smoke-free zones to help citizens naturally recognize the designated areas.

The designation of smoke-free zones was made in accordance with Article 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Yongsan-gu Smoke-Free Zone Designation and Protection from Secondhand Smoke Ordinance.

Starting with Hannam Elementary School in 2018, the district designated the area around Junggyeong High School as a smoke-free zone in 2019, and earlier this year added the areas around Hangang Elementary School, Yonggang Middle School, and Namjeong Elementary School.

Since January this year, the district has conducted on-site visits to the remaining 31 schools, resident interviews, feasibility reviews for smoke-free zone designation, and surveys, and finalized the designation this month after last month's administrative notice.

The survey showed that 97.6% of residents and students supported the designation of smoke-free zones.

Seongjanghyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “We designated all school routes in the area as smoke-free zones to protect the health of children and adolescents and contribute to creating a smoke-free environment. This will significantly reduce damage caused by secondhand smoke.”

Besides designating smoke-free zones around schools, the district is encouraging residents' smoking cessation activities through various methods such as operating non-face-to-face smoking cessation clinics, designating smoke-free zones in apartment complexes, and enforcing smoking regulations.

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