Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 1999)

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee had noted that, according to section 62(1) of the Labour Standards Act (LSA) of 13 March 1997, as amended on 14 August 2001, a person under the age of 15 shall not be employed as a worker. It had noted that section 10(1) of the LSA provides that this Act shall apply to all businesses or workplaces in which more than five workers are ordinarily employed. According to section 10(2) of the LSA and section 1-2 and table 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labour Standards Act of 27 March 1997, as amended on 3 March 1999, the provisions of the LSA pertaining to minors under 18 are also applicable to businesses and workplaces which ordinarily employ fewer than four workers. However, under section 10(1) of the LSA, the Act shall not apply to any business or workplace which employs only relatives living together, and to a worker who is hired for domestic work. The Committee had therefore pointed out that the wording of the Act excluded from its scope of application children and young persons working outside an employment contract, those working in businesses or workplaces which employ only relatives living together and those who are hired for domestic work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that parents acknowledge the importance of education and consequently it is rare that children give up their study and work full time for family business. The Government further states that children can work to help their parents, and that it does not think there is need to have a legal provision protecting these workers. The Committee reiterates that the Convention applies to all types of work or employment. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to include the abovementioned categories of workers in the scope of application of the LSA, and to provide information on these measures.

Article 2, paragraph 3. Compulsory education. The Committee had taken note of the information contained in the Government’s report concerning the Compulsory Secondary Education Plan according to which education is to be compulsory up to the third grade of junior high schools in 2004, when the Plan is completed. The Committee had asked the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the Plan and to specify the age of the school-leaving children at each stage of the Plan. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report according to which free and compulsory education for middle-school students is being gradually expanded within the boundary of available budgets. The Committee takes note of the Framework Act on Education as amended in 2002 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended in 2002. It notes that according to section 8(1) of the Framework Act on Education, compulsory education shall be composed of elementary education for a period of six years and secondary education for a period of three years. Section 12 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides that the State shall conduct compulsory education referred to in section 8(1) of the Framework Act on Education and shall take the necessary measures such as securing the facilities therefor. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 13 state that every citizen shall send his/her sons and daughters or children to school from the beginning of the first school year after the child reaches 6 years of age and up to 15 years of age. The Committee takes due note of this information.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2. Minimum age for admission to, and determination of types of hazardous work. The Committee had noted that section 63(1) of the LSA prohibits an employer from employing persons under 18 in hazardous and dangerous businesses in terms of morality or health. Section 63(3) provides that such prohibited occupations shall be determined by Presidential Decree. The Committee had noted that, as regards types of work prohibited to persons under 18, section 37 of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA provides that the types of work prohibited for persons under the age of 18 as prescribed in section 63 of the LSA shall be provided in attached table 2. The Committee notes with interest the list communicated by the Government in its report of types of work prohibited for minors and contained in table 2 of section 37 of the Enforcement Decree. It includes work dealing with or involving exposure to 2-bromopropane; work in places with high pressure or as divers; work in the brewery and oil businesses (excluding oil filling); work involving incineration or butchery; work at prisons or mental hospitals; driving and operating work for which those under 18 are not allowed to get licences; and other work designated and announced by the Minister of Labour after deliberation made by the Industrial Safety and Health Policy Deliberation Committee. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report if any regulation has been issued by the Minister of Labour and, if so, to supply a copy of it. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate whether the consultations with the organizations of employers and workers concerned have been conducted prior to the establishment of the list of hazardous occupations, as required by Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention.

The Committee had furthermore noted from the Government’s report that section 2(5) of the Act on Youth Protection (AYP) specifies businesses prohibited to young persons and that section 24 of the same Act prohibits employers from employing young persons in businesses harmful to them. The Committee notes that in its report, the Government gives the list of establishments banned from employing youths or giving them access, under section 2(5) of the Youth Protection Act. The Committee notes that "youth" in this Act refers to all men and women under the age of 19. The Committee takes due note of this information.

Article 3, paragraph 3. Exception to the age of 18 years for admission to hazardous work. The Committee had noted that section 70 of the LSA prohibits a minor under the age of 18 to do any work inside a pit provided, however, this shall not apply when the work is temporarily needed to perform the business as determined by Presidential Decree, such as health, medicine, news reports, news coverage, etc. The Committee had recalled that, under these provisions of the Convention, the minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years, provided that such employment or work may be authorized by national laws or regulations or the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Government makes no reference to this point in its reports. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to supply a copy of the abovementioned Presidential Decree.

Article 6. The Committee had noted that the Government’s report contained no information relating to vocational training programmes for children and young persons. The Committee notes that the Government, in its report, indicates that the education system in the Republic of Korea consists of six years of primary education, six years of middle and high school education and four years of university education. It also states that among high schools there are vocational schools which provide job education such as technological, commercial, agricultural and fisheries schools. The Government indicates that the legal minimum age for applying to youth vocational training programmes is 15 years of age. The Committee also notes that section 47 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides that to be admitted to high school and technical schools, one should have completed middle school (which ends at 15 years according to section 13(3) of the abovementioned Act). The Government further indicates that the Vocational Training Promotional Act states that students and the head of workplaces can conclude on-the-job training contracts and that the vocational trainer shall provide guidance to those students receiving the training. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the consultations prescribed by Article 6 of the Convention have taken place. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the Vocational Training Promotion Act.

Article 7, paragraph 1. Minimum age for admission to, and determination of, types of light work. The Committee had already noted (under Article 2, paragraph 1, above) that section 62(1) of the LSA prohibits the employment as a worker of a person under the age of 15. The same provision, however, authorizes such employment provided that an employment permit is issued by the Minister of Labour in accordance with the criteria determined by Presidential Decree. The Committee had noted that, under section 55(11) of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA, the Minister of Labour shall delegate the authority related to the issuing of employment permits for persons under 15 years of age to the director of the district labour agency.

The Committee had noted the information contained in the Government’s report, according to which section 50 of the Work Guidelines for Labour Inspectors (WGLI) sets the requirements for the issuance of employment certificates, namely: (1) the work will be light work not detrimental to the health or morals of the worker concerned; (2) the work will not be deemed to cause danger or harm to the life, health or welfare of the worker concerned; (3) the working hours will not impede classes the worker concerned attends; and (4) the certificate will have agreements and opinions of a principal, a person with parental authority or a guardian. The Committee notes that the WGLI was not sent with the Government’s report. Consequently, it asks once again the Government to provide a copy of the WGLI.

The Committee had also noted that, according to the Government’s statement, the provisions of section 62 of the LSA allowing the employment of persons under 15 only apply to persons aged from 13 to 15. The Government recognized that the law does not provide the specific age allowed to receive an employment certificate, yet, with the enforcement of the Convention, the age of 13 was interpreted as the minimum age for the certificate. The Government had stated that this interpretation was directed as a guideline to regional labour offices and that a revision of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA was planned in view of specifying the minimum age of 13 for the delivery of an employment certificate. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in its report, that the enforcement Decree stipulates that the minimum age of 13 was already amended on 31 October 2001. The Committee notes however that the partial text annexed to the Government’s report does not indicate the minimum age for admission to light work. It therefore requests the Government to provide a consolidated version of the entire Enforcement Decree along with its next report.

Article 9, paragraph 1. Penalties. The Committee had noted from the Government’s report that a juvenile protection committee had been set up to take special measures to protect the youth. The Committee notes that the Government has provided a copy of the Youth Protection Act that establishes the Youth Protection Committee. According to section 28 of the Youth Protection Act, the Youth Protection Committee shall implement matters concerning the establishment of basic plans for protecting juveniles (i.e. a person under 19 years of age according to section 2(1) of the Act) against harmful environments and the appraisal of the progress status of the basic plans; the protection of juveniles against business places harmful to them; the protection of juveniles against drugs harmful to them; publicity, treatment and rehabilitation for juveniles in order to protect them from violence and abuse; the handling of reports on the environment harmful to juveniles, and necessary surveys, research and education for protecting juveniles from such environments; cooperation and support among administrative agencies for the purpose of protecting juveniles. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the concrete measures taken by the Youth Protection Committee pursuant to section 28 of the Youth Protection Act, especially regarding the protection of juveniles against business places harmful to them or the conduct of surveys or research on the environment harmful to juveniles.

Article 9, paragraph 3. Registers. The Committee had noted that section 64 of the LSA requires employers, for each minor worker under 18, to keep at each workplace a copy of the census register testifying to his/her age. The Committee notes with interest that, according to section 40(1) of the LSA, an employer shall prepare a register of workers by workplace, including name, birth date, personal history and other items relating to workers as provided for by the Presidential Decree. It also notes that section 15 of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA provides for exhaustive information which shall be mentioned in a worker register. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply a model of the said register.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical data contained in the Government’s report, according to which, during July-August 2001, the Government inspected 331 workplaces employing minors on an hourly basis such as gas station and fast food restaurants, to ensure their compliance with the Labour Standards Act. The Committee notes that, as a result of these inspections, 110 workplaces (176 cases) were found to violate the law and employers of those workplaces were ordered to correct the problems within 25 days. The employer of one workplace, where the problems were not corrected after the warning was issued, was punished under the law. The Committee notes that the cases involving violations included employers not keeping minor certificates (78 cases), minors working at night or on holidays (22 cases) and minors overworking (34 cases). The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of minors by age group, extracts from the reports of inspection services, and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported.

The Committee also notes that in June 2001, the Government conducted publicity campaigns to inform minors and their employers of the laws related to minor protection, including the LSA. It notes with interest the Government’s statement that it developed and distributed 65,000 pamphlets explaining why and how minor workers should be protected.