BackSchool faculty and parents of Mansung Elementary School and Gwangheawon Middle School located in Gwangheawon, Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province collectively filed a petition. This was because of the insufficient traffic infrastructure which created a dangerous route to schools for their children. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Jung Il Yeon) mediated the case to address the situation.
The ACRC held discussions with Jincheon County, Jincheon Police Station, Mansung Elementary School and Gwangheawon Middle School to finalize an agreement on safe commuting route around the schools on August 19.
The two schools have large student populations compared to other schools in the entire Jincheon County. Many of their students are from the apartment block across the street, walking along the road in front of the Gwangheawon Middle School. While car traffic is congested in both directions, traffic lights have not been installed.
Parents of the school continuously raised concerns about this situation, saying the speed camera is installed in only one direction and cannot prevent every speeding vehicle, the school zone is only partially designated, and safety measures such as fencing are insufficient, causing risks due to jaywalking.
Against this backdrop, a grievance petition was filed with the ACRC on June 18, with the list totaling 1,058 petitioners, including school faculty and parents. The ACRC followed up on this case with a field investigation as well as discussions with relevant institutions to prepare a mediation proposal.
Under the agreement, Jincheon County will install additional safety fencing and closely work with Jincheon Police Station to relocate the crosswalk in front of Gwangheawon Middle School, which currently causes traffic confusion. The county will also install additional road safety measures, including traffic lights, speed cameras for both directions, and an extra crosswalk.
At the same time, Jincheon Police Station will convene a review committee for the traffic safety infrastructure upon request of Jincheon County, actively supporting the relevant administrative procedures for the installation of road safety infrastructure.
Also, the two schools will continuously hold road safety education and conduct campaigns to prevent jaywalking by students, and will pay more attention to the road safety infrastructure installed within the school zone.
Chairperson Jung Il Yeon of the ACRC said, “As a governmental institution, both central and local governments should surely guarantee the safety of children, who are the future of our society.” He added, “The ACRC will do our best to secure the safety of students by actively resolving related petitions.”
Source: The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC), South Korea
