Seongdong-gu 'Smart Smoking Booth Season 2'... Increased Openness, Reduced Smoking Exposure

Two New Smart Smoking Booths Installed Near Exit 6 of Wangsimni Station and IS Biz Tower in Seongsu-dong
Two More to Be Added in the First Half of the Year, for a Total of 14 Booths
Enhanced Openness Inside and Outside, Vertical Structures on Exterior Walls and Windows to Minimize Exposure While Smoking
Improved Interior Layout for Greater Convenience and Accessibility

Inside the smart smoking booth

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that it has added two new ‘Seongdong-type Smart Smoking Booths’ with a new design this year, operating a total of 12 smart smoking booths.

The ‘Seongdong-type Smart Smoking Booth’ is a sealed smoking booth first installed by the local government in November 2022, recognized as a representative win-win policy that resolves conflicts between non-smokers suffering from secondhand smoke and smokers who face inconvenience due to lack of proper smoking areas. The district added one booth in 2023 and eight more in the first half of 2024.

The ‘Smart Smoking Booth’ is equipped with negative pressure facilities that prevent cigarette smoke from leaking even when the door is open. It also has an air purification system that continuously circulates the internal air, and purification filters that expel cigarette smoke and harmful substances outside.

The interior of the booth is specially coated to prevent nicotine or tar from sticking.

A smart ashtray with automatic extinguishing and crushing functions for cigarette butts is also installed. The accumulated ashes and butts are detoxified and processed into thermoplastic wood, which can be recycled into eco-friendly wooden products. Additionally, an unmanned camera (CCTV) is installed inside, allowing real-time monitoring through the district’s integrated control center, and an emergency bell can be pressed to request immediate assistance in case of emergencies.

Since January this year, the newly improved ‘Smart Smoking Booth Season 2’ with enhanced design has been introduced. Considering areas with frequent smoking complaints and high foot traffic, two new booths were installed near Exit 6 of Wangsimni Station and near the IS Biz Tower in Seongsu-dong.

The ‘Smart Smoking Booth Season 2’ increases openness inside and outside, while minimizing exposure during smoking by installing vertical structures on some exterior walls and windows. The internal layout was also improved for convenience, including air conditioning and IPTV.

Currently, the average daily users of the ‘Seongdong-type Smart Smoking Booth’ reach 1,200 to 1,500, with Exit 6 of Wangsimni Station seeing up to 2,700 users per day. Complaints, which used to number in the hundreds in high-complaint areas, have significantly decreased, resulting in high resident satisfaction.

The district plans to install two more booths by the first half of this year and aims to minimize user inconvenience through thorough operation management by a dedicated maintenance company.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “We believe that improving the facilities of the smart smoking booths and continuously expanding their operation will further enhance convenience for both smokers and non-smokers. We will continue to do our best to realize a smart inclusive city, Seongdong, that increases resident satisfaction and adds happiness to daily life.”

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