○ Gyeonggi Province allocates KRW 1.5 billion for 300 facilities used by vulnerable groups that exceed air quality limits and have ventilation issues.
– Support for tailored indoor environment improvement projects, such as eco-friendly wallpaper, flooring, and kitchen hoods
– Improvement of provincial resident satisfaction through measurement of facility indoor air quality and follow-up services

On March 2, Gyeonggi Province announced that it would establish 300 Clean Breathing Zones to improve indoor air quality at facilities used by vulnerable groups such as children, seniors and individuals with disabilities.

The Clean Breathing Zone is a project that measures and improves the air quality of vulnerable facilities, such as daycare centers, facilities for the disabled and nursing homes, which are primarily used by those who are sensitive to air quality. After receiving applications from each city and county on an annual basis, the province selects beneficiary facilities for the replacement of wallpaper, flooring, paint, and air purifiers with eco-friendly products.

Although the Clean Breathing Zone project began in collaboration with private companies in 2016, Gyeonggi Province actively pursued budget acquisition and began full-fledged implementation of the project from 2018. It provided support for a total of 1,603 facilities between 2016 and 2021. According to before-and-after measurements of air quality, ultra-fine dust (PM10) was reduced by 51%, and a survey of beneficiaries revealed satisfaction levels of 88%.

This year, with a total budget of KRW 1.5 billion, the province plans to support indoor air quality improvement and device provision for daycare centers, senior centers and local children centers by providing up to KRW 5 million per facility.

Eco-friendly wallpaper, paint, coil mats and kitchen hoods were provided; this year, support will also include devices that improve indoor air quality, such as ventilation filters and air purifiers.

Gyeonggi Province will first undertake on-site measurements of deterioration, ventilation, mold and air quality at facilities recommended by city and county offices before a deliberation committee selects the final support recipients.

Tailored support implementation begins after consultation with the users of each chosen facility and takes two to four days to complete. The province plans to provide follow-up services for up to one year for supported devices so as to increase beneficiary satisfaction. Moreover, it will determine actual improvement levels by measuring the indoor air quality before and after support implementation.

Fine Dust Countermeasure Division Director Park Dae-geun said, “We will make efforts to further expand the Clean Breathing Zone project to protect the health of vulnerable individuals who fall in administrative blind spot and provide pleasant indoor air quality.”