Enforcement Decree of the Youth Protection Act Amended to Take Effect on the 26th
Expanding Employment Training Opportunities for Specialized High School Students
Employment Possible at Facilities Where On-Site Training Is Completed
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Regulations prohibiting the employment of youth in accommodations such as hotels are being eased. A path has opened for youth who have signed on-the-job training or work-study contracts to be formally employed.
On the 19th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that the amendment to the "Youth Protection Act Enforcement Decree" passed the Cabinet meeting and will take effect from the 26th. This regulatory relaxation reflects demands from the field to improve the system to expand employment opportunities for students of specialized high schools in tourism, hotel, and culinary fields.
With this amendment, youth who have signed work-study contracts at accommodations such as hotels and pensions can now be formally employed at those facilities. The same applies to accommodations equipped with specialized recreational facilities (zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, etc.). A work-study contract refers to an agreement between an employer and a student to provide education and training through a work-study parallel process.
Until now, youth under 19 years old were prohibited from employment at accommodations under the Tourism Promotion Act due to concerns about exposure to harmful environments, but with this system improvement, they can transition from on-the-job trainees to hired employees. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to exclude youth trainees from tasks such as room service to prevent exposure to harmful environments and strengthen corporate field instructors and dedicated labor officers for vocational high schools.
Additionally, the amendment to the enforcement decree added "methods similar to current identity verification means as announced by the Minister of Gender Equality and Family" to the ways of verifying the age and identity of users of youth-harmful media. Beyond current methods such as ID verification, certified certificates, i-PIN, credit cards, and mobile phone authentication, new technologies can be recognized if commercialized and announced by the Ministry.
Choi Seong-yu, Youth Policy Officer at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "With this regulatory relaxation, we expect that vocational training and employment opportunities for specialized high school youth aspiring to become hotel managers (hoteliers) will expand," adding, "We will continue to cooperate with related ministries to ensure that youth can prepare for the future through proper work experience and vocational training in a safe environment."
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