Gangnam Boulevard to be non-smoking zone from April

Gangnam Boulevard, one of the most bustling spots in Seoul, will be designated as a no-smoking zone as part of citywide anti-smoking efforts, the Gangnam district office said Tuesday.

Smoking on the 1 km boulevard from Sinnonhyeon subway station to Gangnam station will be prohibited from April along both sides of the street and those caught smoking will be fined 100,000 won ($90) from July.

For three months starting in April, district officials plan to promote the policy without imposing fines.

The two-lane Gangnam Boulevard is administered by two different district offices ― Seocho and Gangnam.

The decision for the full ban on both sides of the street came about two weeks after the Seocho district office announced it would prohibit smoking on its half of the boulevard from Kyobo book store to Gangnam subway station.

“We decided to designate the entire boulevard as a non-smoking zone because there was criticism that the anti-smoking policy is only half effective without the Gangnam district office participating in the effort,” said a city official.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)