Preemptive Blocking of Harmful Factors for Youth at Year-End and New Year
Special Investigation on Violations of the Youth Protection Act Conducted
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] The Busan Metropolitan City Special Judicial Police conducted a "Special Investigation on Violations of the Youth Protection Act" during the year-end and New Year period, resulting in the detection of 9 establishments violating the Youth Protection Act, including entertainment bars and video viewing rooms.
This special investigation is a proactive measure to prevent youths from being exposed to harmful environments by taking advantage of the festive atmosphere during the year-end and New Year period and to protect youths from potential hazards.
In this investigation, the special judicial police focused on establishments harmful to youths such as entertainment and dance bars, sojubang (Korean-style bars), pubs, video viewing rooms, and karaoke rooms, targeting ▲ employment or entry of youths in establishments where youth entry and employment are prohibited ▲ provision of alcoholic beverages to youths ▲ failure to display signs indicating "No entry or employment for persons under 19" in establishments where youth entry and employment are prohibited. As a result, they detected ▲ 1 establishment allowing youth entry in a prohibited establishment ▲ 8 establishments failing to display the "No entry or employment for persons under 19" sign in prohibited establishments.
In particular, among these establishments, video viewing room A, which is a type of business where youth entry is prohibited, was found to have allowed 2 middle school students and 2 high school students to enter and watch videos for about an hour, leading to its detection by the special judicial police.
Including this establishment, the 9 violating establishments detected in this special investigation will face criminal charges and administrative sanctions, and according to Article 59 of the Youth Protection Act, they will be subject to imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW.
Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, stated, "To protect youths from harmful environments and support their proper growth to realize 'Busan, a happy city that empowers me,' we will continue to do our best in cracking down on establishments violating the Youth Protection Act."
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