20 Child Abuse Offenders Working in Childcare Institutions Exposed

Inspection of Over 370,000 Child-Related Institutions Over One Year Since February Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The government has identified 20 individuals with a history of child abuse-related crimes among approximately 370,000 child-related institutions such as kindergartens, daycare centers, and schools.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 7th that, in cooperation with five related ministries including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, it conducted a background check on 2,509,233 operators and employees of 373,725 child-related institutions from February last year to February this year, confirming these findings.

This investigation targeted individuals with child abuse-related criminal records detected since September 2014, in accordance with the Child Welfare Act. According to Article 29-3 of the Child Welfare Act, individuals with a history of child abuse-related crimes who are under employment restriction periods are prohibited from operating or being employed at child-related institutions during that period.

Among the 20 individuals identified with child abuse-related criminal records this time, 5 are operators of child-related institutions and 15 are employees. By facility type, there are ▲6 in sports facilities (3 operators and 3 employees) ▲9 in medical facilities (employees) ▲3 in educational facilities (2 operators and 1 employee) ▲2 in multi-family housing facilities (employees). For those identified, local government heads or education superintendents/principals have taken measures such as facility closure, operator replacement, or employee dismissal at the respective child-related institutions. Actions have been completed for 13 individuals, and measures are planned for the remaining 7.

Cases of individuals with child abuse-related criminal records violating employment restrictions by working or operating child-related institutions were 30 in 2018, 20 in 2019, 9 in 2020, showing a decreasing trend each year, but increased to 20 in 2021.

The number and names of identified institutions, the number of subjects, and details of measures taken will be publicly available on the Child Rights Protection Agency website for one year.

Choi Jong-gyun, Director of Population and Child Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, “We will continue to actively work to protect children from abuse and alleviate guardians’ concerns through background checks on child abuse-related criminal records.”