"‘I'm a Minor’ Prank on Self-Employed Workers... It's Okay If CCTV Is On"

Presidential Decree Revision Implemented About 20 Days After President Yoon's Directive
Broad Recognition of Related Statements and Remedies Confirmed

From now on, even if self-employed business owners are deceived by minors using forged IDs and sell alcohol to them, they can avoid business suspension by simply keeping closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras turned on.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Government Legislation announced that it will give prior notice of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Food Sanitation Act containing this content starting from the 27th. According to the current 'Enforcement Decree of the Food Sanitation Act' and 'Enforcement Decree of the Juvenile Protection Act,' if a minor uses a forged or altered ID or if the business owner fails to verify the minor’s age due to assault or threats, administrative sanctions such as business suspension can only be exempted if there is a non-prosecution or non-indictment decision by investigative agencies or a suspended sentence by the court.

Last December in Incheon, six minors 'dined and dashed,' leaving a message on the bill.
[Image source: Internet community capture]

The amendment includes provisions that if a self-employed business owner fails to verify whether a customer is a minor due to forgery, alteration, identity theft of an ID, or assault/threats, and this is recorded by video information processing devices such as CCTV, the business owner can be exempted from administrative sanctions. The amendment also broadly recognizes relief through related testimonies or other methods. This is a measure responding to criticisms that overly strict regulations under the Food Sanitation Act have caused unfair harm to self-employed business owners.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, upon hearing appeals for institutional improvements from self-employed business owners at a public discussion on livelihood issues on the 8th, immediately instructed relevant ministries to improve the system. At the discussion, a self-employed business owner appealed that it is unfair to receive business suspension penalties for selling alcohol to minors who deceived them. Subsequently, the Ministry of Government Legislation held working-level consultations with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the relevant ministries, and prepared the amendment to the Enforcement Decree in about 20 days.

Cases where minors deceive self-employed business owners by using someone else’s ID or forged IDs to purchase alcohol or cigarettes and then voluntarily report themselves, causing the store to suffer business suspension or other penalties, have continuously appeared on internet communities. Some minors have also exploited this to avoid paying for food or to extort money by threatening the business owners.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Various soju bottles are displayed at Hanaro Mart Yangjae Branch in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

During last Christmas holiday, a story surfaced about a business owner who sold 140,000 won worth of alcohol and food to minors pretending to be adults and was sued by their parents. The owner said, "Two female customers sat down, with dyed long hair reaching their chest, makeup, and handbags, they looked over twenty years old," and added, "After the customers left, their parents called and hurled all kinds of insults and even filed a lawsuit." He continued, "Business suspension penalties and fines threaten the livelihoods of me, my employees, and part-time workers," expressing frustration, "Is there no punishment for the minors who are harmful by drinking alcohol and smoking, while only the sellers are penalized?"

What angered him even more was that those minors continued to post their drinking activities on social networking services (SNS) afterward. The owner said, "It has been three days since they were caught at our store, but instead of reflecting, they posted photos of alcohol and side dishes at other bars on their Instagram stories," and expressed anger, "Minors who deceive adults while carrying a ticking time bomb and roam bars are innocent, and they visit bars every day. The law and the country protect and support those minors," he said in frustration.

There are also many cases of 'eoljuka' where minors drink and then leave without paying, claiming they are minors. In December last year in Incheon, six people consumed 160,000 won worth of food and drinks including alcohol, left a note on the bill saying, "If you report us, you will be suspended, so we will just leave," and fled. In March last year in Gwangju Metropolitan City, two customers ate two servings of pork belly and drank one bottle of soju, then claimed they were teenagers and demanded the restaurant owner, "We won’t report you, so give us 1,000,000 won in cash per person," in an extortion incident.