Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes the observations of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) received on 31 August 2018.

Articles 3(b) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and penalties. Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee notes the observations made by the KCTU that the sexual exploitation of minors persists in the Republic of Korea. Minors, in particular those who have left their families, are at a high risk of being compelled into prostitution or pornography. A sizable number of pornographic works involving minors are produced and disseminated through mobile instant message applications and the social media. The KCTU further refers to the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s Prostitution Survey 2017 which indicates that 61.8 per cent of minors who have visited the centres for youth at risk were engaged in prostitution.

The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government in its report on the number of cases reported and criminal procedures carried out for the offences under section 13 (purchasing of sex from children and juveniles) of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Exploitation (APCJSE). According to this information, from June 2016 to May 2018, 1,595 cases were received, of which 1,575 cases were processed, 631 persons were brought to public trial and 33 persons were brought to summary trial. During the same period, 489 cases were received under section 14 (coercing a child or juvenile into a sexual act), of which 490 cases were handled with 221 persons brought to public trial. With regard to the court decisions handed down for the violations of the APCJSE, the Committee notes that 1,111 persons were sentenced with restriction of physical freedom, and 666 persons were subjected to property-related punishments. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of children under 18 years of age from commercial sexual exploitation. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the provisions of the APCJSE with regard to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including the use, procuring and offering of children for prostitution, the production of pornography or for pornographic performances by providing, in particular, statistics on convictions and the penal sanctions imposed.