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| Cho Hi-yeon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Education Office |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Korea has been covered with ultra fine dust lately.
Its concentration levels in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province areas marked the highest since measurements began in 2015, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The presidential website was filled with over 300 petitions from parents requesting the government install air purifiers at schools, while tens of thousands of citizens backed their claim.
The government strengthened its figures on measurements last month, putting fine dust levels over 36 micrograms per cubic meter into the "bad" category from the previous 51.
The move is likely to reduce outdoor school activities around the nation as an increasing number of parents request the government establish indoor gymnasiums at schools.
Education superintendent candidates have been using the parents' worries as their key campaign pledge ahead of the June 13 local elections.
The Ministry of Education also it will install air purifiers in classrooms within three years.
Gu Hee-hyun, who is a candidate running for superintendent of education for Gyeonggi Province, vowed to install air purifiers in every classroom.
"I will not use the lack of budget as an excuse. Even if I have to add a supplementary budget we will install them immediately," said Gu.
Chung Jin-woo, former president of the Korea Teacher and Education Workers Union (KTU), who is also running for superintendent in Gyeonggi Province, vowed to increase cooperation with companies to install air purifiers and fine dust measurement devices in each school.
Unlike other candidates, Cho Hi-yeon, the current head of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, who is likely to run for re-election said it is unrealistic to install air purifiers in every classroom in the city as there are budgetary limits.
However, he supported Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's plan to close schools when fine dust levels remain high in the capital.
Earlier this week, Park described fine dust as an invisible, silent killer and added the city could begin discussing measures with Seoul's education administration.
He cited other countries' cases where schools are closed even during minor natural events.
Lee Jae-jung, the current head of Gyeonggi Province Office of Education, spent 3.6 billion won ($3.4 million) to install air purifiers and ventilation devices in populated streets and areas around elementary schools last winter break.
In addition, Lee plans to spend 4.7 billion won to install air filters at kindergartens this year.
The government plans to announce new fine dust measures for students sometime next month.
It is looking into ways to supply masks to daycare centers, kindergartens and primary and secondary schools.
To tackle the root of the problem, the government expanded its scope of anti-fine dust measures to include private companies and factories that are responsible for emitting large amounts of pollution.
39 private companies located in metropolitan areas in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon will be subject to the new guidelines.
The plan will also include 193 large factories that are responsible for roughly 80 percent of total fine dust emissions in the metropolitan area.
The government will keep track of their fine dust discharges and report these to local governments for supervision.
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