Korean Mobilization on Asbestos
After months of turmoil, the new Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office on June 4, 2025. Seizing the initiative, civil society groups launched a rolling program of weekly public rallies in the capital to highlight critical issues including the countrys deadly asbestos legacy, the dumping of Fukushima nuclear wastewater and Koreas humidifier disinfectant disaster. Having banned asbestos years after many other OECD countries, Korea has now surpassed all of them with its nationwide program for the eradication of asbestos from schools. The decontamination work is due to be completed by 2027, making Korea a world leader in this field. A delegation of thirty lawyers from all over Japan is scheduled to visit Korea in September 2025 to learn from Koreas experience.
Despite this success, dangerous loopholes and unaddressed problems remain.
![]() June 24, 2025 Seoul asbestos protest. Photo courtesy of the Citizens' Center for Environmental Health. |
Calling for renewed efforts to make Korea asbestos-free, participants at a June 24, 2025 asbestos demonstration organized by a coalition of victims and civil society groups1 highlighted areas of concern:
![]() Asbestos Rally at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, June 24, 2025. Addressing the gathering is Hwang Kyung-wook, Asbestos Removal Supervisor. The English translation of the signs being held by the demonstrators say: For Asbestos-Free Korea and My Requests to Lee Jae Myung (the new President of Korea). Photo courtesy of the Citizens' Center for Environmental Health. |
Commenting on last weeks activity, Director of the Environmental Health Citizens' Center Choi Ye-yong said:
As a teenager, the new President suffered an industrial accident which left him with a permanent incapacity. Koreas economic success has come at a heavy price not only for workers but for others injured by exposures to environmental contamination and dangerous consumer goods. The rejuvenation of the national infrastructure presents opportunities to eradicate the asbestos hazard at the same time as future-proofing our buildings by the use of solar panels and new technology. We call on the Government to hold an open dialogue on how best to achieve these aims.3
July 8, 2025
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1 The organizers of the June 24, 2025 event included: the Citizens' Center for Environmental Health (Eco-Health), Korea Asbestos Prevention Network (BANKO), Seoul Federation for Environmental Movements, National Network for Environmental Health, Humidifier Disinfectant Victims and Bereaved Families, Asia Monitor Resource Center (AMRC) and the Asian Network of Occupational and Environmental Victims' Rights (ANROEV).
2 [이재명 정부에 바란다 3] 석면위험없는 대한민국, 국가플랜 추진하자 [[What I Want from the Lee Jae-myung Government 3] Lets Promote a National Plan for a Republic of Korea without Asbestos Risk]. June 24, 2025.
http://www.eco-health.org/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sub02_02&wr_id=1309
3 Email from Choi Ye-yong. July 2, 2025.