Jeon Hae-cheol Conducts On-Site Inspection of 'Children Protection Zones' for Family Month... Meeting with Parents and Civic Groups

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 4th, Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visited the children's protection zone around Hanam Kindergarten in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do, and held an on-site meeting to prevent children's traffic accidents.

This inspection was arranged to check the improvement status of facilities in the children's protection zone in celebration of Family Month in May and to listen to the opinions of on-site stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and civic groups.

The area around Hanam Kindergarten, the target of this on-site inspection, originally had three child-related facilities concentrated, but roadside parking lots were in operation, and there was no school route, making it a place with a high risk of children's traffic accidents.

Accordingly, as part of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's children's protection zone improvement project, all roadside parking spaces (13 spots) were abolished in 2020, and the area was converted to one-way traffic with newly installed sidewalks. In addition, traffic safety facilities such as speed and parking violation enforcement equipment were installed, and the intersection area, which was operated with a flashing signal, was changed to a roundabout.

Minister Jeon said, "We must boldly shift the policy paradigm from automobile traffic-centered traffic safety policies to pedestrian safety-centered policies," adding, "Within the framework of policy changes centered on pedestrians, we will actively promote various policies to strengthen the safety of child pedestrians."

Immediately after the meeting, Minister Jeon also participated in the 'Children's Traffic Safety Relay Challenge,' which has been promoted since December last year to build national consensus for preventing children's traffic accidents. The 'Children's Traffic Safety Relay Challenge' is a campaign that spreads the children's traffic safety slogan (1 stop! 2 look both ways! 3 seconds wait! 4 prevent high-risk behaviors!) selected through a national idea contest last year in a relay format.

Minister Jeon, who was nominated by Baek Na-young, principal of Hanam Kindergarten, nominated Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, Commissioner of the National Police Agency Kim Chang-ryong, and teacher Lee Se-il of Gunnaebuk Elementary School in Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do as the next participants.

Minister Jeon said, "With the significant expansion of traffic safety facilities in children's protection zones, there have been meaningful changes such as a reduction in children's traffic accidents and improvements in drivers' driving habits," adding, "We will continue to promote facility improvements to create an environment where our children, who will be the future leaders, can safely commute to and from school."

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