"From the 22nd, Boys Aged 4 and Over Not Allowed in Women's Bathhouses"

Lowering the Age Restriction for Male and Female Accompaniment... Allowing Entry for Individuals with Mental Illness

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Starting from the 22nd, boys aged 4 and older will no longer be allowed to enter women's bathhouses and changing rooms when accompanied by their mothers. Similarly, girls aged 4 and older are prohibited from entering men's bathhouses when accompanied by their fathers.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 21st that it will enforce a partial amendment to the "Public Hygiene Management Act Enforcement Rules" containing these provisions starting from the 22nd.

With the amendment of the enforcement rules, the age restriction for joint entry of males and females in bathhouses will be lowered from the previous 5 years old to 4 years old (48 months) and above.

Additionally, individuals with mental illnesses will be excluded from the list of those prohibited from entering bathhouses to eliminate elements of human rights violations.

The concentration standard range for free residual chlorine (chlorine remaining in ionic form) when disinfecting bathwater (bathhouse bathtub water) with chlorine will be relaxed from the previous 0.2 mg/L or more and 0.4 mg/L or less to 0.2 mg/L or more and 1 mg/L or less. This adjustment was made based on the judgment that the impact on the human body would not be significant compared to water quality standards for drinking water (4 mg/L or less) and swimming pools (0.4 mg/L to 1 mg/L). It also reflects the reality of bathhouse businesses that need to regularly add chlorine to maintain concentration.

Standards for lodging facilities will also be relaxed. Previously, lodging businesses using part of a building had to have at least 30 rooms or the business area had to be at least one-third of the building's total floor area. However, starting from the 22nd, if the rooms are arranged on independent floors, lodging businesses can operate regardless of the number of rooms or reported area.

Furthermore, the three-hour annual hygiene education required for public hygiene business operators will be allowed to be conducted online considering the COVID-19 situation. The period for local governments (city, county, district) to delete business registration details without a hearing for public hygiene business operators who have reported closure to the tax office will be shortened from about 60 days to 10 days. This will enable new business operators to start operations sooner.

As of last year, there are a total of 255,092 public hygiene businesses nationwide, including lodging, bathhouses, barber shops, beauty salons, laundries, and building hygiene management businesses.

Im In-taek, Director of the Health Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, explained, "With the amendment of the Public Hygiene Management Act Enforcement Rules, facility and hygiene standards have been adjusted to reflect reality, which will help revitalize public hygiene businesses and reduce the burden of hygiene education on business operators."

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