The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 10th that it had measured electromagnetic wave exposure from 34 everyday products across 22 categories, including compact single-person appliances and AI-equipped home appliances, as well as at four smart bus stops and 4,780 living-environment sites, and found that all of them satisfied the nation’s electromagnetic wave human protection standards. The electromagnetic waves emitted by the products and spaces encountered in daily life were confirmed to fall far below the human protection limits, helping to ease public anxiety.
 [코리안투데이] Measurement of electromagnetic waves at a smart bus stop © 장형임 기자 |
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that it had measured electromagnetic wave exposure from 34 everyday products across 22 categories, including compact single-person appliances and AI-equipped home appliances, along with four smart bus stops and 4,780 living-environment sites, and that all of them satisfied the domestic electromagnetic wave human protection standards. The domestic human protection standard adopts the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP 1998).
To address public curiosity and concern about electromagnetic waves in daily life, the Ministry selects major products and locations of high social interest each half-year, measures their electromagnetic wave strength, and releases the results. Between 2019 and 2025, measurement results were published for 544 cases across 218 categories of everyday products and facilities, as well as for 30,155 living-environment sites.
For everyday products, the National Radio Research Agency carried out precise measurement and analysis of 34 items across 22 categories over roughly one month, from May 4 to June 17, in accordance with the electromagnetic wave strength measurement standards. As a result, the electromagnetic wave strength of everyday product groups such as compact single-person appliances and AI-equipped home appliances was found to be between 0.08% and 35.32% of the human protection standard. Seasonal product groups such as portable camping air conditioners and hot-and-cold tumblers measured between 0.21% and 4.10%. Vibration exercise machines (35.32%) and IH electric rice cookers (22.61%) were relatively high but still below the limit, while most products, such as location trackers (0.08%) and AI dishwashers (0.21%), registered only a tiny fraction of the standard.
Measurements were also conducted at smart bus stops, which have been installed to provide a safe and comfortable public transit environment in response to weather conditions such as heat waves and cold spells. A smart bus stop is a life-oriented space equipped with various information and communications technology (ICT) facilities such as cooling and heating units, air circulators, and Wi-Fi, and it was included in the measurement targets to address concerns about electromagnetic waves generated as multiple facilities operate in close proximity. When four bus stops in Songdo New Town, Incheon, were measured under summer operating conditions, the electromagnetic waves generated by the interior spaces and facilities came to 1.11% or less of the human protection standard.
The living-environment measurements covered a total of 4,780 sites, including 2,956 facilities submitted directly through public applications, as well as children’s facilities, youth education facilities, public facilities, and data centers. Electromagnetic waves generated by various facilities and equipment such as mobile communication base stations and Wi-Fi were measured separately by frequency band. As a result, the electromagnetic waves at facilities for children and adolescents, medical facilities, and facilities used by the elderly and people with disabilities all measured at a low level of around 1% of the human protection standard, while residential and commercial areas as well as convergence facilities including data centers were confirmed to be within 4% of the standard.
In the second half of the year, the Ministry plans to continue measuring exposure levels for products submitted directly by the public, products with concentrated seasonal demand, and living environments of high concern and anxiety regarding electromagnetic waves, and to release the results transparently. Because it operates an ongoing channel through which the public can propose facilities to be examined, this initiative is serving as a route for dispelling vague anxiety about electromagnetic waves in daily life by confirming actual measurement data.
The detailed results for the products and environments measured this time can be found on the National Radio Research Agency’s 《Electromagnetic Waves in Daily Life (www.rra.go.kr/emf)》 website and the Korea Communications Agency’s 《Electromagnetic Wave Safety Information (emf.kca.kr)》 website, and any member of the public can apply for measurement through these websites.
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
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