Seoul to push smoking, drinking ban at Han River parks, but backlash expected

Seoul is considering imposing drinking and smoking bans across Han River parks, the city government said Sunday. But the plan could come to nothing if backlash ensues.

The Seoul city government, seven years ago, tried to make Han River parks smoke-free, but failed due to staunch public backlash.

Last year, the city government also tried to push ahead with imposing a ban on drinking at the riverside parks, but the local government also made no progress even after a yearlong discussion.

The Seoul city government said it will conduct additional surveys and collect opinions to see if a social consensus can be reached, before deciding whether it will actually impose the bans.

To tackle smoking, a total of 11 designated smoking areas would be first installed at Han River parks, a decision Seoul City made following complaints from anti-tobacco advocates.

According to a survey conducted by the Seoul city government this year, 9 in 10 supported a smoking ban at Han River parks.

Imposing the smoking ban in park areas, however, would still take time, said the office responsible for running the riverside parks. The office, under the city government, said it would approach the issue more carefully than it did seven years ago so that its plan doesn't backfire and end in failure.

The Seoul city government's efforts to make Han River parks drinking-free could face strong opposition as a public consensus has not been formed on the issue.

Seoul’s attempt to ban outdoor drinking at riverside parks was first discussed last year, after growing calls that followed the death of a university student who had been drinking by Han River last April.

Since then, there has been not much progress made on imposing a ban on outdoor drinking in the area.

The Seoul city government said there are legal grounds to impose the ban on outdoor drinking at riverside parks -- a favorite pastime of many in Seoul -- but it would have to go through a series of consultations before making a final call.

In June last year, the National Health Promotion Act was revised to allow for the drinking ban to be enacted. Before that, the riverside parks were categorized as green space under laws relating to river management, which prevented the government from imposing such bans like it can at other parks in the city.

At the moment, the existing ordinance only restricts and penalizes drinkers who cause trouble in the park areas.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)