Seoul City Designates and Operates Smoking Areas in Hangang Parks to Minimize Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Hangang Project Headquarters Establishes Designated Smoking Areas to Minimize Secondhand Smoke Damage in Hangang Parks

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Hangang Project Headquarters announced on the 29th that it plans to install smoking booths throughout Hangang Park and actively encourage smoking only in designated areas to minimize secondhand smoke damage and create a pleasant park usage culture.

The Hangang Project Headquarters collected opinions on the designation of smoking areas and the form of smoking booths in Hangang Park through public surveys and expert advisory meetings. As a result, a total of 35 zones across Hangang Park were designated as smoking areas, and the installation of 37 smoking booths is being promoted. In August, the Hangang Project Headquarters conducted a public survey of about 1,000 Seoul residents, with 90.8% agreeing with the designation of non-smoking areas in Hangang Park. Regarding the method of designating non-smoking areas, 61.2% supported "designating the entire area as a non-smoking zone while separately designating some smoking areas."

The locations for installing smoking booths were designated to maintain a certain distance from walkways and children's playgrounds, and placed near parking lots where visitors stay for a short time or on the edges of riverbanks that do not obstruct views of the Hangang River. The booths are designed to allow natural ventilation by opening more than 50% of the floor and wall areas, and reinforced glass on the walls was removed to ensure safe evacuation during natural disasters such as flooding.

The Hangang Project Headquarters has currently completed the installation of 17 smoking booths at major Hangang Parks, including 5 in Yeouido, 6 in Ttukseom, and 6 in Banpo, and plans to install a total of 37 smoking booths across 11 Hangang Parks by the end of the year.

Upon completion of the smoking booth installations, Hangang Park security officers and public safety officers will actively encourage smokers to use the designated smoking booths, and campaigns to foster a non-smoking culture in Hangang Park will be conducted simultaneously.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to revise ordinances through related procedures to designate Hangang Park as a non-smoking area. Yoon Jong-jang, head of the Seoul Hangang Project Headquarters, said, "To reduce secondhand smoke damage in Hangang Park and ensure that all citizens visiting the park can have a pleasant and enjoyable time, we ask smokers to please use the smoking booths."