Poor Maintenance of Soundproof Walls at Incheon Schools... Incheon City Council Warns of Threats to Student Health Rights

Concerns have been raised that soundproof walls installed at elementary, middle, and high schools in the Incheon area are not being properly maintained, putting students' rights to health and education at risk.

According to data released on May 29 by Myungkyu Lee, a member of the Incheon City Council (Bupyeong District, Constituency 1), a survey of all 537 elementary, middle, and high schools in Incheon found that soundproof walls have been installed at 80 schools. However, it was confirmed that for many of these facilities, the entities responsible for installation and management vary widely, or in some cases, cannot even be identified.

Most of these soundproof walls have no record of repairs having been made in the past three years. At some schools, the soundproof walls were confirmed to have been installed as far back as the 1990s, indicating severe aging of the facilities. In many cases, there are no records of maintenance history or management activities.

Myungkyu Lee Incheon City Councilor

Furthermore, because responsibility for installation and management is dispersed among different agencies such as the city government, district offices, and the Office of Education, there is criticism that budget execution and maintenance responsibilities are unclear. As a result, most school soundproof walls are not being properly inspected or maintained, and their installation has become merely a formality.

In addition, the data necessary to assess the status of school soundproof walls is either inadequate or nonexistent, making it difficult for local governments and the Office of Education to respond quickly even if schools file complaints.

There are concerns that deteriorated soundproof walls could have a negative impact on students' health, as corrosion may generate metal dust or hazardous substances.

Councilor Lee stated, "After soundproof walls are installed at schools, there is no systematic management or repair at all," adding, "Because students' rights to education and health are being threatened in an administrative blind spot, urgent measures are needed."