Taean County Completes Facility Improvements at 85 Public Restrooms

Installation of Safety Mirrors and Safety Screens to Prevent Stalking and Illegal Filming

Facilities installed in public restrooms in Taean, Chungnam. /Taean-gun

Taean County in South Chungcheong Province has completed its facility improvement project to create safer public restrooms.

The county announced that since October, it has been implementing the “National Safe Public Restroom Facility Improvement Project,” which includes the installation of safety mirrors, safety screens, and emergency bells in public restrooms to prevent crime. The project was completed on the 6th and the restrooms have now been opened to residents and tourists.

This project follows Taean County's selection in May for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s “2024 National Safe Green Public Restroom Leading Project.” The county invested a total of 50 million KRW, including 25 million KRW in special government grants, to improve facilities at 85 public restrooms across eight towns and townships.

The safety mirrors are installed at restroom entrances to help prevent stalking crimes by allowing users to check if anyone is following them. Additionally, safety screens installed at the bottom of restroom stalls are expected to block illegal filming using smartphones and other devices.

In an emergency, users can press the voice-activated emergency bell or shout “Help me” or “Please save me” inside the restroom, which will automatically connect to the police station. The system identifies the location of the restroom, enabling the police to respond immediately and ensuring a swift response in urgent situations.

The installation locations are as follows: 11 in Taean-eup, 13 in Anmyeon-eup, 9 in Gonam-myeon, 13 in Nam-myeon, 11 in Geunheung-myeon, 19 in Sowon-myeon, 6 in Wonbuk-myeon, and 3 in Iwon-myeon.

The county plans to strengthen cooperation with related agencies such as Taean Police Station to prevent illegal activities in public restrooms and enhance publicity, with the goal of ensuring that residents and tourists can use public restrooms with peace of mind.

A county official stated, “We promoted this project to enhance the safety of Taean, a tourist city visited by many throughout the year, and to help residents feel secure in their daily lives. We will continue our efforts to raise Taean’s profile by creating a bright and safe environment.”

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