Oh praises alcohol-free zone designation at senior staff meeting

City to strengthen shelter placement and self-reliance support for street homeless

Talks underway to extend zone to nearby underground passages

Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu, the two districts that oversee Seoul Station Plaza, designated the area an alcohol-free zone starting Monday. [Yonhap]
Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu, the two districts that oversee Seoul Station Plaza, designated the area an alcohol-free zone starting Monday. [Yonhap]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday at a senior staff meeting that Jung-gu's decision to designate the Seoul Station Plaza area an alcohol-free zone — following last year's smoking ban — was "a very positive step," and called for the city to use the occasion to dramatically improve conditions around the station. Oh also directed officials to manage the plaza and nearby underground passages in a coordinated manner and to strengthen protections and self-reliance support for street homeless people in the area.

Oh said the ordinance introduced by the 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council served as the starting point for the alcohol-free zone designation, and said the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Jung-gu must work closely together to make the policy effective.

The city has pursued a range of rehabilitation and self-reliance programs for street homeless people, including a humanities education initiative called "Humanities of Hope," aimed at helping them reintegrate into society. Beyond temporary shelter, the programs have offered humanities education, psychological and emotional recovery support, and capacity-building for independent living. Those efforts have reduced the number of street homeless people around Seoul Station by 20 to 30 percent.

The city plans to build on the alcohol-free zone designation by strengthening on-site counseling, shelter placement, and residential and self-reliance support, with the goal of driving that number down further.

Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu, which jointly oversee Seoul Station Plaza, designated the area an alcohol-free zone starting Monday. The zone covers the plaza and outdoor spaces surrounding Seoul Station — 13,283 square meters under Jung-gu's jurisdiction and 6,570 square meters under Yongsan-gu's, totaling about 20,000 square meters. To ease public confusion and allow the system to take hold, the city will run a public awareness and guidance period through Feb. 28 next year, with fines of 50,000 won ($37) taking effect from March.

"We have already cut the number of street homeless around Seoul Station by around 20 to 30 percent — we should treat this alcohol-free zone designation as a new turning point," Oh said. "Please work to persuade street homeless people to enter shelters, support their stable return to society, and make every effort to reduce the street homeless population by more than 50 percent."

Oh added that meaningful environmental improvement would require managing not only the plaza but also the nearby underground passages in a comprehensive way. "Please actively provide administrative and fiscal support at the city level so that citizens can use the Seoul Station area more safely and comfortably," he said.


ikson@heraldcorp.com