[Report] No Smoking Within 30 Meters of Schools... Open Smoking Right Next to the Banner

One Enforcement Officer Oversees 2,400 No-Smoking Zones
"Monitoring Must Be Strengthened with Measures Like Installing CCTV"

On September 3, in front of an elementary school in Mapo-gu, Seoul, a banner stating that the area within 30 meters from the school boundary is a no-smoking zone was hanging by the roadside. However, right next to the banner, groups of nearby office workers were smoking together. The warning that "a 100,000 won fine will be imposed for smoking" seemed to serve as nothing more than a backdrop.

Office workers are smoking in front of a 30-meter no-smoking zone banner hanging in front of Gongdeok Elementary School in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Youngchan Choi

This location is right in front of a building with a daycare center, and the elementary school also has an affiliated kindergarten, resulting in frequent passage of children. Mapo-gu has received countless complaints from daycare parents and has carried out smoking crackdowns, but these efforts have had little effect.

Even though the revision of the National Health Promotion Act, which expanded the no-smoking zone from 10 meters to 30 meters around elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as daycare centers and kindergartens, has been in effect since August last year, there has been little change on the ground. Smoking near schools remains common, and the expanded no-smoking zones have failed to function as intended.

After visiting four additional elementary schools in Mapo-gu, it was easy to find cigarette butts and empty cigarette packs discarded along the school fences. One parent who came to pick up their child said, "I often see people smoking in front of the school," and added, "Although I hear about crackdowns, I have never actually seen anyone being penalized."

The reason the expansion of no-smoking zones has not been effective is due to the practical limitation that it is impossible to monitor all smokers. In Seoul alone, there are more than 300,000 no-smoking zones, but only about 120 enforcement officers. This means that, on average, each officer is responsible for over 2,400 no-smoking zones.

Cigarette butts piled up on the fence of an elementary school in Seoul. Photo by Youngchan Choi

An official in charge of no-smoking enforcement at a public health center in Seoul said, "Even in our case, four people have to monitor all the no-smoking zones in one district, so it is impossible to handle all the smoking complaints that come in," adding, "Even if we increase the number of personnel, it does not seem like a problem that can be solved."

Hong Sunggeol, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at Kookmin University, pointed out, "Regulation does not end with its creation; compliance increases only when there is actual monitoring and people are convinced that penalties will be imposed," and added, "At the very least, CCTV should be installed in habitual smoking areas to strengthen enforcement, and fines should be imposed continuously."