Yoon Young-deok, Democratic Party Deputy Floor Leader, Urges Improvement of School Cafeteria Workers' Conditions

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Yoon Youngdeok, Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Dongnam-gap), called for an investigation into the actual conditions of school cafeteria workers' meal environments and improvements to their working conditions.

On the 29th, during a current affairs speech at the Democratic Party floor leaders' meeting held in the National Assembly main building, Yoon mentioned a case where a school cafeteria cook was recognized as having an occupational disease due to lung cancer, emphasizing that "the safety and health of school meals are necessary not only for students but also for cafeteria workers."

He also cited the case of a cook working in a poorly ventilated cafeteria, stating, "Especially during the frying and stir-frying processes, exposure to harmful substances such as carbon monoxide and fine dust causes them to complain of dizziness and nausea, as if they were in a gas chamber."

He pointed out that despite the consecutive recognitions of occupational cancer among school cafeteria workers, the education authorities have been responding lukewarmly.

He urged metropolitan and provincial offices of education to conduct detailed epidemiological and health condition surveys of cafeteria workers working in poor cooking environments and called for the Ministry of Education to present unified improvement measures to frontline education offices.

Deputy Floor Leader Yoon said, "With the heatwave and the upcoming full return to school in the second semester, improving the working environment of cafeteria workers is urgent," adding, "We all must strive to create a safe environment for all members of the educational field responsible for the health and safety of not only the cafeteria but also the children."

Meanwhile, Deputy Floor Leader Yoon plans to co-host a discussion forum titled ‘Seeking Alternatives for the Health and Safety of School Cafeteria Workers’ on the 13th of next month at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute, together with National Assembly member Kang Eunmi, triggered by the recognition of occupational disease due to lung cancer among school cafeteria workers.

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