Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok: "Urgent Inspection and Replacement Needed for School Cafeteria Ventilation Facilities"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Yoon Youngdeok, a member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Dongnam-gap), pointed out that the lack of specific standards for ventilation devices in school cafeterias is threatening the health of cafeteria cooks due to poor ventilation.

At the Ministry of Education’s national audit on the 1st, Assemblyman Yoon criticized, “Even though 47 cafeteria cooks have applied for industrial accident compensation this year alone, the Ministry of Education has not even grasped the current status.”

Referring to data from the ‘Discussion Forum for Seeking Alternatives for the Health and Safety of School Cafeteria Workers’ hosted by his office last month, he said, “According to the research report, the longer the experience in frying and stir-frying, the risk of lung cancer increases up to 34 times, and the longer the cooking time, the risk of lung cancer increases by 3.17 times.”

He continued, “Harmful substances generated from cooking are problematic, but strong detergents used for sterilizing tableware also contain carcinogens and allergens that threaten the health of cooks,” and insisted, “The Ministry of Education should actively take the lead in identifying the status of industrial accident compensation applications for cafeteria cooks.”

He also emphasized, “There are no specific standards regarding the hood type and airflow in the Ministry of Education’s ‘School Cafeteria Hygiene Management Guidelines’ related to ventilation facilities,” and added, “The education authorities should first conduct a full survey on the ventilation status of school cafeterias and actively secure budgets for replacing ventilation facilities suitable for the cafeteria environment.”

Meanwhile, Jeong Taekyung, a former cafeteria cook who appeared as a reference representing school cafeteria cooks, testified, “After working as a cafeteria cook for over 20 years, I was diagnosed with terminal-stage acute lung cancer, and last month I received industrial accident recognition and am currently undergoing treatment,” and said, “I hope the government will take the lead in improving ventilation facilities and also relax the placement standards for cooks.”

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