Ministry of Environment Expands 'Children's Activity Spaces' Under Safety Management

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The scope of ‘children’s activity spaces’ that require environmental safety management will be expanded. A committee to clearly determine the source of environmental responsibility will also be established next year.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Environment announced that the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Health Act was approved at the Cabinet meeting. The amendment includes expanding the safety management standards applied to children’s activity spaces. Currently, these standards apply only to elementary school classrooms and libraries, kindergartens, and daycare centers, but going forward, gymnasiums in elementary schools and group guidance rooms in local children’s centers under the Child Welfare Act will also be included. The gymnasium standards will take effect from September 1, 2032, and the group guidance rooms from September 1, 2029.

Additionally, the Environmental Liability Insurance Committee, which will review and deliberate on specialized matters related to environmental liability insurance, will be launched in January next year. The committee will consist of up to 20 members, including one chairperson. Members will be composed of public officials nominated by relevant ministries and experts in related fields such as environmental liability insurance, industrial safety, and law.

Park Yeon-jae, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, evaluated, “This amendment is expected to provide children, who are sensitive to environmental harmful factors, with safe spaces to play freely, and through the review of specialized matters related to environmental liability insurance, contribute to the stable operation and development of the environmental liability insurance system.”

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