Gyeongnam Office of Education: "Children Protection Zones Must Be Wider and Safer"

Survey on Conditions Near Elementary Schools in the Province Through 'Anjeon-i'

The Gyeongnam Office of Education will conduct a comprehensive survey of all elementary school school zones in the province by the 24th to expand child protection zones and improve traffic safety environments.

According to the provincial Office of Education, this survey, conducted through the nation's first electronic map system for analyzing traffic safety environments on school routes, 'Safe Ai-ro[路],' will be carried out in three stages.

In the first stage, the school commute safety team will analyze 511 elementary school school zones based on data to identify schools requiring on-site inspections.

The second stage involves on-site investigations of the identified schools, and the third stage consists of joint inspections with traffic safety-related agencies for schools needing detailed diagnostics.

Gyeongnam Office of Education.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The provincial Office of Education explained that, until now, child traffic safety measures have focused on installing traffic safety facilities such as protective fences, speed bumps, and unmanned enforcement cameras within roads designated as school zones.

They added that comprehensive analysis on whether the designated range of school zones is appropriate for preventing traffic accidents has been insufficient.

School zones can be designated for certain sections of roads within a 300-meter radius centered on the main school entrances; however, areas within the 300-meter radius that are not roads, major roads that are not the main school commute routes, and places where speed limits are difficult to enforce have been excluded from school zones.

The provincial Office of Education has identified about 20 schools where only part of the school zone has been designated and plans to investigate these schools to assess the need for expanding the protection zones.

Ahn Seung-gi, Director of Safety General Affairs, said, “We will actively strive to ensure that children who were previously outside the protection of strengthened school zones under laws such as the so-called Min-sik Act can be safely protected on their way to and from school through this survey.”