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 country’s deadly asbestos legacy, the dumping of Fukushima nuclear wastewater and Korea’s 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 Korea’s 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:
- ·failures of compliance with mandatory asbestos regulations by asbestos removal operatives; inadequate oversight to prevent the illegal sub-contracting of asbestos removal work;
- ·the legacy of widespread asbestos use including 950,000 deteriorating buildings with asbestos-cement roofing, the majority of which are in rural areas;
- ·the safe management of areas with naturally occurring asbestos;
- ·marginalized groups of asbestos-injured individuals – such as those exposed to toxic fibers produced by asbestos mining or processing facilities – who have been unable to access compensation under the Asbestos Relief Act for environmental asbestos victims; people with laryngeal cancer and ovarian cancer caused by asbestos exposures who are, at this time, ineligible to make a claim under this Act;
- ·inadequate support for asbestos victims and their families.2
 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 week’s 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. Korea’s 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] Let’s 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.
