Sokcho City to Significantly Enhance Kitchen Hygiene at 98 Senior Centers... Distribution of Ultraviolet Sterilizers

Sokcho City in Gangwon Province is set to launch a comprehensive initiative to improve kitchen hygiene in all 98 senior community centers in the area, focusing on ensuring a safe dining environment for seniors in this super-aged society.

A view of Sokcho City Hall.

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Starting in February, Sokcho City will implement a program to provide ultraviolet sterilizers in order to enhance the kitchen hygiene of senior welfare and leisure facilities and create a safer dining environment for seniors. The program will cover all 98 senior community centers in Sokcho.

As of the end of December 2025, the population of seniors aged 65 and over in Sokcho stands at 20,484, accounting for 25.7% of the total population. With the city entering a super-aged society, the importance of creating safe and hygienic environments in facilities used by seniors, such as community centers, is increasing.

Since senior community centers are places where many people dine together, strict hygiene management is required to prevent infectious diseases. In particular, kitchen utensils such as knives, cutting boards, and dishcloths, which are used in food preparation, have hygiene management limitations when cleaned only routinely. Therefore, a more systematic approach is needed to prevent food poisoning and other hygiene-related incidents.

The city plans to provide ultraviolet sterilizers to create an environment where kitchen utensils can be managed hygienically, allowing seniors to use the community centers with peace of mind. Given the direct impact of this initiative on senior health, the city aims to complete the distribution within the first half of the year and will accelerate the implementation process.

Lee Byeongseon, Mayor of Sokcho, stated, "We will do our utmost to ensure that seniors can safely use the community centers by providing ultraviolet sterilizers for improved hygiene management." He added, "We will continue to identify and implement proactive welfare environment improvement projects that reflect the unique characteristics of our region."

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