http://eco-health.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sub09_04&wr_id=523

Press Statement 

Wishes for the LEE Jaymyung Administration 3: 
Asbestos Risk Free Korea, National Plan needed 

Asbestos is a Group 1 carcinogen that has clear evidence in humans and animals as defined by the World Health Organization, and causes various cancers such as lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, laryngeal cancer, and ovarian cancer, as well as incurable diseases such as asbestosis, which makes breathing difficult due to hardening of the lungs. It is used in all countries of the world and is known as the worst industrial accident material that takes the lives of workers in various workplaces such as mines and construction sites, and is used in numerous buildings, automobiles, and home appliances, so citizens are exposed to asbestos in their daily lives and suffer asbestos damage.

Although Korean society's response to the asbestos problem has been late compared to Western Europe and OECD countries, it can be evaluated as an environmental and social problem that is being dealt with relatively actively. Although asbestos use was banned in 2009, the implementation of the Asbestos Relief Act for environmental asbestos victims in 2011 and the nationwide policy of removing asbestos building materials from schools nationwide and replacing them with non-asbestos materials by 2027 are representative examples.

In particular, the policy of removing asbestos from all schools nationwide is evaluated as an advanced policy that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. Even in Western Europe, which banned asbestos use in the 1990s, much earlier than us, similar policies are not being pursued. The same is true in Japan, which enacted the Asbestos Relief Act and banned asbestos use before us. For this reason, about 30 lawyers from all over Japan who are participating in lawsuits for victims of asbestos-related industrial accidents in Japan are said to be visiting Korea in September to learn about the school asbestos removal policy.

Although limited to some areas such as Busan and Chungnam, the policy of finding environmental asbestos victims in factories that handled asbestos raw materials, asbestos mine areas, and asbestos slate-concentrated areas is also a special asbestos policy being implemented in Korea. In this case, some local governments in Japan have pursued similar policies, with local governments actively seeking out environmental asbestos victims in their regions and receiving support from the Asbestos Victims Relief Act.

This trend is because environmental health-related civic groups, victims, and related experts have been actively raising the issue of asbestos since the late 1990s, and the media has been consistently reporting on the issue. The fact that the government reflected the trend of society in its policies and several ministries jointly promoted asbestos policies to the extent that there was a dedicated department in the Ministry of Environment to focus solely on the issue of asbestos for several years around 2010 also played a major role.

In fact, among various environmental and social issues, there are not many topics that are evaluated as having started late but have been dealt with diligently and have become world-leading. This is except for cultural fields such as K-POP.

In the case of the asbestos issue, it is possible to make a special evaluation like the above when looking at it from the outside, but if you take a step back and look at the reality, you wonder if it can really receive such an evaluation. 1) In the process of removing and dismantling asbestos at schools, basic asbestos mapping is not done properly, and safety guidelines are not followed, so there is a high risk of contamination with carcinogenic asbestos dust inside the school as well as in the surrounding community. 2) Asbestos removal is a dangerous site, so subcontracting is prohibited by law, but in reality, illegal and unlawful subcontracting is rampant. 3) Although the use of asbestos has been prohibited since 2009, millions of asbestos buildings used before remain, and in particular, asbestos slate buildings are 950,000 according to official statistics as of 2021, and all of them are old and neglected, or broken asbestos slate roofing materials can be commonly seen in rural areas as well as in cities. 4) Because asbestos diseases occur decades after exposure to asbestos, occupational diseases of workers as well as environmental damage to citizens continue, but are covered up and there is not enough support for the damage. We are promoting a series of policy proposals [What we want from the Lee Jae-myung government] to create a Republic of Korea that is politically and economically democratic and environmentally clean and safe, and this is the third time we are proposing the asbestos issue. It is [Asbestos Risk Free Korea, Let's Promote a National Plan].

As previously pointed out, the Republic of Korea has an ambivalent image of both praise and criticism when it comes to the asbestos issue. Our intention is to actively improve the areas where the Lee Jae-myung government can be criticized and further promote the areas where it is praised, comprehensively creating a Republic of Korea that is ahead of the world. We propose three specific proposals.

Proposal 1) Let's Promote a National Plan for a Republic of Korea without Asbestos Risk!

Asbestos Risk Free Korea

The policy to remove asbestos from all schools nationwide by 2027 is a trend in which many local offices of education are achieving their goals one to two years early. Monitoring should continue to ensure that the remaining asbestos schools strictly follow safety guidelines when removing asbestos. The remaining asbestos issue is the safety management and asbestos removal of the over 1 million buildings nationwide that use asbestos slate roofing materials and buildings that use asbestos ceiling materials (asbestos tex) and asbestos partition materials indoors. The so-called 'natural asbestos' problem, where asbestos is mixed in the soil and ground layers on the surface due to geological characteristics, cannot be eliminated, so there is no choice but to manage it safely.

The only country in the world where the 'asbestos-free country' policy is being discussed is the Netherlands. In Korea's case, if we actively promote asbestos policies in other asbestos fields, such as the school asbestos removal policy that can be positively evaluated, we can realize a practical 'asbestos-free country' within the next 10 to 20 years.

Considering the number and proportion of the buildings in question, the core of the [Creating an Asbestos-Free Republic of Korea] national plan targets asbestos buildings that use asbestos slate and asbestos tex. The Ministry of Environment predicts that 950,000 asbestos slate buildings will disappear by 2033 through redevelopment, remodeling, and demolition support policies. If we include buildings that partially use asbestos slate, such as small warehouses and bathrooms, the number is expected to exceed several million. Therefore, a new government-level special goal should be set and promoted as a national plan.

Proposal 2: Let's create a Korean rural village without the risk of asbestos slate

If we refrain from the current passive asbestos slate removal project at the local government level and set and promote the goal of the Lee Jae-myung government's 5-year complete removal of asbestos slate at the national level, we can realize [creating a Korean rural village without the risk of asbestos slate]. This is even easier in cities because there are far fewer asbestos slate buildings than in rural areas.

Unlike other countries, in Korea, during the Saemaul Movement at the national level in the 1960s and 1970s, thatched roofs were eliminated and replaced with asbestos slate roofs on a large scale. It is a symbol of modernization and economic growth. In addition, due to the large-scale casualties in fires, asbestos ceiling materials were made mandatory in school buildings. Therefore, a policy to replace asbestos slate roofs with non-asbestos roofing materials needs to be promoted at the national level. If non-asbestos roofing materials are replaced with solar roofs in line with the trend of the times, it can have the double effect of removing asbestos and responding to the climate crisis.

In addition, if idle workers in rural areas participate in asbestos removal projects, it can create jobs. It would be good if the market, where illegal subcontracting and small-scale asbestos removal companies are rampant, is organized as a national policy by places like the Korea Environment Corporation, and local governments such as Chungnam and Busan, which have many asbestos victims, actively participate in pilot projects and take the lead.

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Proposal 3) Revise the Asbestos Victims Relief Act to expand victim support

The number of asbestos victims who have been recognized as victims of relief by the end of May 2025 under the Environmental Asbestos Victims Relief Act that has been in effect since 2011 is 8,458. Of these, 3,492 people, or 41%, have suffered from cancer such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma, and 4,962 people, or 59%, have asbestosis, a disease that causes the lungs to harden and make breathing difficult. Of these, 2,970 people, or 35%, have already died. (Click for details on the status of damage recognition by disease, region, and period)

The World Health Organization has long designated laryngeal cancer and ovarian cancer as cancers related to asbestos exposure, and Korea has already recognized these diseases in industrial accidents and occupational diseases, but the Environmental Asbestos Damage Relief Act does not recognize them. It provides limited support for only two years for damages caused by asbestos 2 and 3 that do not improve and can worsen to asbestos lung cancer. If the Asbestos Damage Relief Act fund target is expanded to the automobile, electronics, cement, and construction industries that have made large profits by using asbestos parts, sufficient financial resources can be secured to expand damage support. The Asbestos Damage Relief Act should be revised to reflect this content and damage support should be expanded.

As above, [Making Korea Risk-Free] is not an abstract slogan, but is raised based on specific analysis of reality and detailed policy suggestions. The Lee Jae-myung government's promise to prioritize national safety is not only about one-time incidents like the Sewol ferry and Itaewon disasters. It should also include disasters and issues like humidifier disinfectant and asbestos, which are called slow disasters that take a long time from exposure to damage.

I emphasize this repeatedly, asbestos is an area where we can actively review the areas that are lacking based on the positive evaluations and make Korea the most advanced country in the world. Furthermore, we can make the K-asbestos environmental policy known to the international community and a good example that people from all over come to learn from. I hope you will actively review it.

June 24, 2025

Eco-Health: Asian Citizens' Center for Environment and Health, 
Ban Asbestos Network (BANKO),
Seoul Federation for Environmental Movements,

National Network for Environmental Health,
Humidifier Disinfectant Victims and Bereaved Families,
Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC),

Asian Network for Occupational and Environmental Victims' Rights (ANROEV)