Gachajik Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly Member: "59 Private Kindergartens in Gyeongbuk Unable to Conduct Asbestos Removal Work Due to Lack of Funds"

"Urgent Need for Budget Support" Urged

Gyeongbuk Office of Education: "No Legal Basis"

Gyeongbuk Provincial Council member Cha Ju-sik (People Power Party·Gyeongsan) stated in a press release on the 5th ahead of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education's administrative audit, “Asbestos removal work must be carried out at 59 private kindergartens in the Gyeongbuk area, but unlike public kindergartens, there is no budget support basis, making it impossible to proceed with the work,” and emphasized, “Urgent budget support is needed as soon as possible.”

After analyzing the “Asbestos Removal Status of Kindergartens in the Last 3 Years” data submitted by the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, Councilor Cha found that among the total 663 kindergartens, 511 (77.1%) are asbestos-free, while asbestos-containing kindergartens include 93 public kindergartens (14,923㎡) and 5 private kindergartens (28,632㎡).

Assemblyman Cha Ju-sik of Gyeongbuk Provincial Council.

Public kindergartens are carrying out asbestos removal work using education budgets, but the problem lies with private kindergartens, which have no budget support basis. The cities and counties with the most private kindergartens requiring asbestos removal are Pohang (15 locations, 7,247㎡), Gumi (11 locations, 5,668㎡), and Gyeongsan (10 locations, 5,632㎡), among 14 cities and counties including a total of 59 private kindergartens (28,632㎡).

Councilor Cha stated, “While it is important for children to learn knowledge at kindergartens, above all, safe childcare must come first,” adding, “Especially since asbestos is a first-class carcinogen and its harmfulness is well known, the Office of Education should not make excuses that it cannot support the asbestos removal budget for private kindergartens from the perspective that they are ‘private property.’ Instead, active measures need to be established to secure the health rights of the children.”

He further added, “The Gyeongbuk Office of Education supports asbestos removal costs for private elementary, middle, and high schools. However, they claim they cannot provide budgets for private kindergartens because most are operated by individuals rather than corporations, and this issue is a common phenomenon nationwide, according to the Office of Education.”

In response, a Gyeongbuk Office of Education official said, “It is difficult to provide support due to the lack of legal grounds for private kindergarten facility projects, and similar situations exist in other provinces and cities,” adding, “In the future, cooperation among the Council of Provincial Education Superintendents, the Private Kindergarten Association, and the Ministry of Education is necessary to make efforts to establish legal grounds.”

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