"Children's Meals at Risk"... 7,543 School Food Poisoning Cases in Seven Years

Assemblyman Kim Moonsu's Audit Data:
Jeonnam-Gwangju Reports 11 Cases and 348 Patients
Steady Rise Since COVID-19; Annual Hygiene Checks Proving Insufficient
Urgent Need to Strengthen Safety and Inspect All Stages of Ingredient Production,

In the past seven years, there have been 11 cases of food poisoning in schools in the Jeonnam and Gwangju regions, resulting in 348 cases of illness. Nationwide, the number of food poisoning incidents related to school meals has steadily increased every year since 2021, raising concerns that comprehensive safety measures are urgently needed, starting from the food ingredient distribution phase.

In particular, since the COVID-19 pandemic, school meal food poisoning incidents have continued to rise each year across the country, highlighting the urgent need for countermeasures.

Assemblyman Kim Moonsoo pointed out that 7,543 cases of food poisoning occurred nationwide in schools over the past seven years at the National Assembly. Photo by Assemblyman Kim Moonsoo's office

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Education to Assemblyman Kim Moonsoo, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, on September 15, the total number of food poisoning cases in schools nationwide reached 7,543 (168 incidents) over the seven-year period from 2019 to 2025.

Within this figure, the Jeonnam and Gwangju regions reported a total of 11 food poisoning incidents, resulting in 348 cases of illness. By regional education office, Gyeonggi Province had the highest number of cases (1,703 cases across 30 incidents), followed by Seoul (1,687 cases across 24 incidents), and Busan (1,036 cases across 20 incidents). Sejong was the only region with zero reported incidents.

High Schools Suffer the Most... Average Number of Cases Per Incident Highest in Middle Schools

By school type, high schools experienced the most severe impact. High schools accounted for 2,994 cases across 63 incidents, representing a significant proportion of total cases. This was followed by elementary schools with 2,557 cases (65 incidents), middle schools with 1,783 cases (35 incidents), and alternative schools and others with 209 cases (5 incidents).

When comparing the average number of cases per incident, middle schools had the highest. Each middle school incident averaged 50.9 cases, indicating the broadest spread of group infections, while elementary schools had an average of 39.3 cases per incident.

The number of food poisoning cases in schools nationwide decreased from 1,214 cases (28 incidents) in 2019 to 401 cases (13 incidents) in 2020. However, the numbers started to rise from 2021: 708 cases (21 incidents), 1,102 cases (25 incidents) in 2022, 960 cases (20 incidents) in 2023, 1,482 cases (29 incidents) in 2024, and 1,691 cases (36 incidents) in 2025. Compared to seven years ago, this marks an increase of 477 cases.

Currently, the education authorities conduct at least one hygiene inspection and prevention education session per year; however, experts say this has not been sufficient to curb the upward trend in food poisoning incidents.

Assemblyman Kim Moonsoo said, "School meal food poisoning continues to occur nationwide, threatening the health of children," and stressed, "It is essential to thoroughly analyze the causes and create a meal environment where students can eat with peace of mind."

He added, "It is necessary to strengthen not only sanitary management within schools but also inspections and safety checks at every step of food ingredient production, processing, and distribution."

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