Adults treated as high school students also banned from watching restricted films, 'Law Revision' Needed

Representative Lee Byung-hoon Introduces Amendment Bill as Lead Sponsor

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Congressman Lee Byung-hoon (The Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul) has taken the lead in proposing a partial amendment to the "Act on the Promotion of Movies and Videos" to align the definition of youth with the Youth Protection Act in order to reduce confusion at movie viewing sites.

The current Movie and Video Act defines "youth" as "persons under the age of 18," unlike the Youth Protection Act, and also includes "students enrolled in high school" under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, so even adults enrolled in high school are included in the category of youth, restricting their viewing of movies rated as restricted for youth.

It is a clear violation of the law for adults enrolled in high school to watch movies rated as restricted for youth, and movie theaters that allow persons who are not permitted to watch movies of the rated grade to enter are subject to a fine of up to 50 million won.

However, adults enrolled in high school are likely not to disclose their enrollment status themselves for movie viewing, and unless the movie theater has the entire high school's student database, it is impossible to verify whether an adult is enrolled in school with only an ID card such as a resident registration card.

The amendment improves such ineffective provisions to better fit real life and promote efficient law enforcement by setting the youth standard as "persons under the age of 19," but excluding "persons who have reached January 1 of the year they turn 19," thereby aligning the standard with the Youth Protection Act, which lifts restrictions on alcohol, tobacco, etc., in the year of high school graduation.

Congressman Lee said, "The current law designates ratings such as restricted for youth through classification to protect youth from harmful environments, just like the Youth Protection Act," and pointed out, "Applying different age standards for 'youth' may cause confusion in law application and enforcement."

He added, "It is necessary to increase predictability and reduce confusion in the application of laws related to youth protection by aligning the youth standards under the Movie and Video Act with those of the Youth Protection Act."