A robot prepares lunch at Soonggok Middle School in Seongbuk District, Seoul, Nov. 22, 2023. Korea Times file

Are cooking robots in school cafeterias truly assistants to workers, or do they pose a threat to their jobs and safety?

As some regional education offices, including the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, push for or consider introducing robots into school cafeterias, cafeteria workers are voicing their opposition. While education offices say that "cooking robots will help cafeteria staff escape hazardous working conditions," cafeteria workers argue that this is not a fundamental solution.

According to the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union (KPTU), Sunday, several education offices — including those in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province , Incheon, Gangwon, Busan, Daegu and Jeju Island — are currently considering the implementation of cooking robots in school cafeterias. The "Gyeonggi-style cooking robot," a pilot project by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, is already being used to assist with frying, stir-frying, soups and stews. Cafeteria staff prepare ingredients by inspecting, washing, cutting and seasoning them, while robots handle the rest of the cooking process.

"Cooking robots are being introduced to improve cafeteria workers' working conditions and reduce the risk of workplace injuries," a Gyeonggi education office official said.

For example, cafeteria staff are at high risk of injury when handling hot oil for frying or boiling water for soup, but robots can take over these tasks, reducing the danger.

In reality, poor working conditions and demanding labor have made it difficult for many schools to hire cafeteria workers. A report by the Seoul Health and Safety Promotion Institute found that among 232 workplace injuries reported at Seoul schools and educational institutions last year, 62.5 percent (145 cases) occurred in cafeterias.

Despite these claims, the KPTU argues that cooking robots will not provide substantial assistance. Because robots cannot fully take over the cooking process, cafeteria workers must still be actively involved, meaning their workload and risk of workplace injury may not decrease significantly. Furthermore, since each school's cafeteria layout, structure and conditions vary, the union argues that it is difficult to determine whether full-scale automation is feasible based on limited pilot projects.

"At an elementary school in Seoul where a cooking robot was introduced, there were cases where the robot failed to receive an adequate water supply or had issues with programmed recipes," a KPTU representative said. "The introduction of cooking robots should not be rushed."

The union also pointed out that standardized safety regulations for cooking robots have not yet been established, raising concerns that these machines could create new hazards, such as collisions between robots and workers.

Instead, the union is calling for more fundamental measures to prevent workplace injuries among cafeteria workers. Given the increasing number of cases where workers in confined kitchens have developed lung cancer, they propose improving ventilation systems and reducing the number of students each cafeteria worker is responsible for feeding. The union said, "While improving ventilation and reducing the number of meals per worker may seem basic, they are the most reliable solutions."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.