We visited the children’s protection zone, called the “School Zone,” in front of a middle school on August 7. As the child passing through this area walked along the road, seeming familiar, he began to avoid the parked cars on the roadside and stepped onto the road. A white truck and a gray sedan narrowly passed by beside him. It has been three months since Busan introduced the “Comprehensive Safety Plan for Children's School Routes,” but the path to the school is still extremely dangerous.

On July 28, the Citizens' Measures Committee for Ensuring Safe Children's School Routes held a press conference in front of the Busan Bukbu Police Station, urging for the release of the comprehensive inspection results of school zone safety. In May, Busan thoroughly investigated the risk factors of the children's school routes. It announced safety measures, but Busan did not reveal the investigation results. Citizens remain unaware of which areas in Busan are unsafe for children's school routes and how accurately Busan conducted the investigation.

Park Chan-Hyeong, the regional autonomous division director of Citizen’s Solidarity for the Participation of Busan, leading the Citizens' Measures Committee for Ensuring Safe Children's School Routes, stated, "Both the comprehensive inspection of school zones and the announcement of measures were conducted within just one month. If the investigation results are not revealed, it is natural to assume that Busan City executed the investigation inadequately."

“Channel PNU,” from August 3 to August 7, performed safety inspections on 21 elementary school commute routes in Geumjeong-gu, focusing on elements corresponding to the comprehensive survey. Over five days, “Channel PNU” checked for safety based on the criteria, such as crosswalk in operation, two-way pedestrian pathway assurance, installation of slope protection fences, cracking down on illegal parking, etc. However, it was hard to find any trace of “fast maintenance” Busan said was carried out for three months after announcing the safety measures. The dangers encompassed in the scope of the comprehensive survey still lingered in front of the children’s school routes in Geumjeong-gu.

■School Zones Fail to Protect Children

Parents’ Solidarity in Busan has pointed out downhill slopes as the most dangerous parts of the school routes. This is because of frequent accidents caused by vehicles skidding downhill. As it is a mountainous terrain, there were many slopes in the school zones in Geumjeong-gu. However, there were few places where specific measures were taken. According to the investigation by “Channel PNU”, out of the 21 locations surveyed, only three (14.3%) had protective fences installed to prevent vehicle skidding. Particularly at the intersection in front of Seodong Elementary School, where slopes exceed 15 degrees, the only safety measure on site was the installation of non-slip pavement. Shim Jeong-Seon (Chairman, Seo-dong branch of the Parents’ Solidarity in Busan), whose child attends Seodong Elementary School, mentioned, "Just last month, there was an incident in Saha-gu where a truck descending a slope pushed aside the pedestrian fence and entered the sidewalk. I am dissatisfied with continuing to deal with safety issues afterward."

Malfunctioning pedestrian signals at crosswalks are also a problem. Among the surveyed locations, nine out of 21(42.9%) had crosswalks where pedestrian signals were inactive. There were also crosswalks in every alley without any traffic lights. At the crosswalk in front of Busan Sahmyook Elementary School, where the pedestrian signal was off, parked cars hindered pedestrians’ visibility on both sides. There were no pedestrian traffic lights or protective fences on the slope marked “School Zone” between the Geumjeong Mountain Ssangyong Yega 1st and 2nd complex apartments. On June 19, near Baeksan Elementary School in Buk-gu, a traffic accident occurred in a school zone with no pedestrian signals, leading to a librarian in their 20s to fall unconscious. The victim's family demanded the operation of the pedestrian signal. However, the Busan Metropolitan Police only changed the vehicle’s yellow light (caution) to a red light (stopping for a while) due to the "traffic volume."

Places without commuting walking paths were also frequently found. In the case of Bugok Elementary School, the pedestrian path for commuting was disconnected at a distance of less than 50 meters from the school. As a result, a situation occurred where a mixer truck heading to the construction site collided with a sedan while passing through the narrow road in front of Bugok Elementary School. The students had to maneuver their bodies between parked cars to avoid collisions. As part of its safety measures, the city announced that they plan to designate roads where creating pedestrian paths is difficult as one-way streets. However, it was difficult to find such one-way roads, even on the narrow alleyways where students and cars are mixed.

The issue of illegal parking was also severe. After two incidents of child pedestrian accidents last year, both the nearby villa complex and the front of the shopping district were designated as school zones at Chongryong Elementary School. Nevertheless, vehicles were parked along the back roads there. According to the revised Road Traffic Act of 2021, parking and stopping vehicles are entirely prohibited on all roads within school zones. Consequently, vehicles caught illegally parked in school zones are subject to a fine of 120,000 won, three times higher than the general road fines. However, even in areas with signs indicating "Enhanced Enforcement Zone for Illegal Parking and Stopping Vehicles," it was still easy to spot illegally parked cars.

■Building a Safe School Commuting Environment with Citizens

Busan still refuses to disclose the results of the comprehensive inspection of school routes. It is stated that there is a concern that if the comprehensive inspection results are disclosed, it could lead to situations where they become entangled in undue external pressure or disputes during the subsequent stages of policy decisions. Mainly, Busan explained that it cannot be disclosed as the criteria and basis for designating high-risk school routes have yet to be clearly established.

Kim Hyeon-Jae (Manager, Transportation Policy Division of Geumjeong-gu Office) stated, "We are currently confirming the severity of various issues identified during the survey and assessing whether improvements are possible." He said, "Information disclosure will only be possible once the final confirmation process for the comprehensive survey is completed."

The comprehensive survey of school routes by the city was urgently conducted following an incident that occurred on April 28 near Chungdong Elementary School in Yeongdo-gu, where an elementary school student, while on the way to school, tragically lost her life under a 1.7 ton fishing net from an illegally operated forklift. From May 9 to 17, the city investigated 853 school zones in Busan. Approximately 420 individuals from district and county office traffic safety divisions, district offices of education, jurisdictional police stations, and school governing committees participated as a "joint district and county field investigation team."

Based on the survey results, Busan held a press conference on May 22, announcing a "Comprehensive Safety Plan for Children's School Routes." This plan includes details such as establishing safety infrastructure, securing school routes, intensive management of high-risk roads, and improving collaborative systems and regulations. Park Heong-Joon (Mayor of Busan) stated, "We will allocate a priority budget of 1.5 billion won for urgent repairs in high-risk areas. We will do our best to prevent any further loss of precious young lives."

As the awaited investigation results remain undisclosed, concerns among parents are escalating. Resident A (42, Geumjeong-gu), waiting for her child returning at Bugok Elementary School's entrance, stated, "I am educating my child to use the pedestrian route as much as possible, but I am always anxious. Especially when walking through alleyways without sidewalks, I consistently remind them to be extra cautious."

Civilian Society Organizations such as the Citizen’s Solidarity for the Participation of Busan and the Parents’ Solidarity in Busan assert that the city government should promptly release the results of the comprehensive investigation and collaborate with parents and schools to establish effective safety measures. Kang Jin-Hui (co-representative, Parents’ Solidarity in Busan) stated, "Our demand for information disclosure is not meant to criticize the city, but rather signifies our willingness to collaborate if there are any shortcomings in the investigation. We need to conduct more thorough inspections of school zones in coordination with parents and teachers."

Reporter You Seung-Hyun

Translated by Kim Tae-Yi