Variant Room Cafes Encouraging Juvenile Delinquency... Government to Take Joint Action

Meeting of Relevant Ministries to Prepare Response Measures at 2 PM on the 10th

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A comprehensive government response system will be established to prevent youth delinquency in new and variant room cafes.

On the 10th at 2 p.m., the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will hold a “Meeting of Relevant Ministries to Establish Countermeasures Against New and Variant Youth Harmful Businesses” at the Government Seoul Office, chaired by Vice Minister Lee Gi-soon, with participation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, local governments, and the National Police Agency.

This meeting was organized to discuss effective government countermeasures to prevent illegal business practices of youth harmful establishments and to protect youth, amid growing concerns about youth safety due to the recent spread of new and variant room cafes.

The meeting will share the current status of each ministry’s measures to prevent legal violations by youth harmful businesses and protect youth, and discuss cooperation in inspections and crackdowns as well as institutional improvement plans.

First, the meeting will gather opinions on the status and crackdown plans by each ministry regarding establishments operating as lodging businesses (under the Public Health Control Act), video viewing rooms (under the Act on Promotion of Movies and Videos), and general restaurants (under the Food Sanitation Act) without filing or registering according to individual laws or violating facility standards, as well as strengthening inspection and crackdown measures against violations of the Youth Protection Act such as failing to display “No Entry Under 19” signs at establishments prohibiting youth entry and employment, or allowing youth to enter or be employed.

Additionally, to prevent similar new and variant youth harmful businesses, the meeting will discuss △ review and supplementation plans for laws and systems under each ministry’s jurisdiction △ plans to inform business owners, workers, and enforcement agencies (local governments and police) about youth protection-related laws and systems △ educational measures to prevent youth harm and foster healthy sexual awareness.

Earlier, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family sent two official letters to local governments and the National Police Agency on January 9 and January 25, urging active crackdowns and reporting/prosecution of new and variant room cafes, and on February 9 requested a status survey of room cafes.

Accordingly, local governments are conducting crackdowns on “variant room cafes” in their regions and will take prompt measures to protect youth when legal violations are detected.

Furthermore, on the 9th, Vice Minister Lee Gi-soon of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family accompanied inspections and crackdowns at room cafes in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to assess the on-site situation.

Going forward, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to hold follow-up meetings to share and review the status of inspections and crackdowns by each ministry and progress on institutional improvements discussed at this meeting.

It also intends to gather field opinions from academia, related organizations, and youth, and through consultations with relevant ministries, revise the “Notification on Designation of Establishments Prohibiting Youth Entry and Employment” to establish effective measures to protect youth from new and variant harmful businesses.