North Gyeongsang education office lifts school zone designations at 27 closed facilities

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Office of Education said Friday it has completed the removal of school zone designations at 27 sites — 21 kindergartens and six elementary schools — that had remained designated as child protection zones even after the facilities closed.

The review was undertaken to bring zone designations in line with actual commuting conditions and the genuine need for child protection, and to establish a more systematic approach to managing school zones.

Last year, the education office conducted a comprehensive survey of school zones near closed facilities across the province and identified 27 locations where designations had remained in place after closure.

In response, the office shared the list of closed facilities with the relevant city and county governments and requested that the zones be lifted. Where necessary, officials visited local governments directly to discuss dedesignation procedures and follow-up measures, completing all removals through sustained administrative cooperation.

The office also went beyond administrative dedesignation, verifying on the ground whether road markings, signs and other traffic safety infrastructure associated with the former school zones had been removed.

By clearing all zones where the need for protection had lapsed, the review reduces unnecessary traffic restrictions that had inconvenienced residents, while allowing safety management resources to be concentrated on areas where children actually commute and need protection.

In addition, the education office produced and distributed a guidebook on school zone designation and dedesignation procedures to help schools and district education support offices handle the process under consistent standards.

The guidebook sets out the criteria and procedures for handling related administrative tasks so that staff can apply it directly in the field.

"We will continue to examine conditions on the ground closely and work actively with relevant agencies — strengthening child safety while promptly clearing zones that are no longer needed, so as to minimize inconvenience to residents," said North Gyeongsang Provincial Superintendent of Education Im Jong-sik.