“Sorry for the Inconvenience from the Sports Day, Should Children Apologize?”... Reform Party Pushes for Bill to Exclude Children's Voices from Noise Regulations

Sports Day Apology Posters at an Elementary School in Gyeonggi Province

Chun Haram Pushes for Amendment to Noise and Vibration Control Act

Consultations to Exclude Sports Days from 112 Noise Complaints

Chun Haram, floor leader of the Reform Party, announced on April 21 that he would push for a bill to exempt children's voices from the scope of noise regulation laws. He also stated that he would consult with the police to completely exclude events such as school sports days from being subject to police noise complaints.

On social media that day, Floor Leader Chun said, "At an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province, students themselves made posters apologizing for causing inconvenience due to their sports day and put them up on the school fence," adding, "Children's voices are not noise. Children's sports days are not a nuisance."

It was reported that there were no actual noise complaints at the school, but the posters were put up out of consideration for the neighbors.

An elementary school sports day scene. This photo is not directly related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang.

Regarding the posters, Floor Leader Chun commented, "A sports day is not an occasion for which one should apologize by saying, 'Sorry for the inconvenience.' A sports day is an essential educational activity for developing elementary students' social skills, cooperation, and athletic abilities. It's not something that happens every day; it's an event that takes place once a year."

It has been confirmed that the police have responded to noise complaints by dispatching officers during school sports days. According to data reported by the National Police Agency to Floor Leader Chun's office, out of 350 'school sports day' 112 emergency calls made last year, police were dispatched for 345 cases. On this, Floor Leader Chun stated, "The police may have intended to respond diligently to complaints, but this is unacceptable. Reports related to children's legitimate education and activities should be excluded from noise complaints in the 112 emergency response rules."

"The Reform Party will prepare the 'Children's Voices Are Not Noise Act,'" Floor Leader Chun declared. "We will begin work to explicitly exclude children's voices from noises regulated by laws such as the Noise and Vibration Control Act, and we will start discussions with relevant agencies to revise guidelines including the '112 Comprehensive Situation Room Operation and Report Handling Rules.'"

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