Sohee Kim Proposes Amendment to School Health Act to Include "Viruses" in Hygiene Management Targets

Sohee Kim, a member of the People Power Party, on June 25 proposed an amendment to the School Health Act that would include "viruses" as a target for environmental hygiene management in school facilities to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

The current School Health Act requires school administrators to maintain and manage the environmental hygiene of school facilities, specifying contaminated air, bacteria, and dust as targets for management.

Sohee Kim, member of the People Power Party. Courtesy of Sohee Kim's office

Recently, there has been an emphasis on measures to address the spread of infectious diseases caused by airborne viruses such as COVID-19. However, under the current law, "viruses" are excluded from the list of environmental hygiene management targets in school facilities. As a result, there have been concerns about gaps in the protection of students, faculty, and other users of school facilities.

The proposed amendment explicitly designates "viruses" as a target for environmental hygiene management in school facilities, thereby strengthening protection for students and other users of these facilities.

In February, Kim also proposed an amendment to the Indoor Air Quality Control Act to include "viruses" as a target for indoor air quality management in multi-use facilities, aiming to enhance user protection.

Kim stressed that since viruses are currently excluded from the list of air quality management targets in multi-use facilities, including school facilities, there are shortcomings in protecting vulnerable groups such as students, children, the elderly, and pregnant women. She emphasized the urgent need for institutional improvements.

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