Assemblywoman Park Eunjeong Slams Coliform Bacteria in Drinking Water at Some Jindo Schools

Slams repeated detection of total coliform bacteria at schools in Jindo
"Instead of perfunctory machine cleaning, people must go in and scrub the tanks themselves"

Park Eunjeong, a proportional representation member of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council from the Democratic Party of Korea, strongly criticized the “desk-bound administration” of local education office chiefs during an administrative audit, raising detailed questions about everything from hygiene issues directly linked to student safety to fairness in overseas training programs.

On November 10, during an administrative audit of nine education support offices—Mokpo, Jangheung, Gangjin, Haenam, Yeongam, Muan, Wando, Jindo, and Sinan—by the Education Committee of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council, Assemblywoman Park continued her pointed questioning, saying, “The answers on education are not in reports on desks, but in schools.”

Park Eunjeong, former member of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council.

The first issue she raised was the education office chiefs’ lack of communication with schools. Assemblywoman Park urged them, “Go to a school cafeteria, pay for a meal, and serve yourself.” She said that only by seeing firsthand how well-balanced the meals are and how leftovers are handled can they properly understand the actual quality of school meals and conditions at schools.

She was even more forceful on hygiene issues directly related to students’ health. Assemblywoman Park brought to light a serious case in which total coliform bacteria had been detected in the second and third quarters consecutively at water supply facilities in some schools in Jindo.

Questioning the way water tanks are cleaned, she criticized the practice, saying, “Cleaning with machines alone inevitably leaves areas that are missed,” and added, “Even if it is somewhat unpopular, fundamental hygiene management is needed, with people going into the water tanks themselves and scrubbing them thoroughly.”

She also strongly criticized the Education Office’s complacent response, pointing out that the “hygiene management guidelines for water purifier outlets,” which she had raised in July, had not been properly communicated to schools.

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