Human Rights Commission: "Ministry of Education Must Improve Human Rights of Specialized High School Interns"

Suggestions for Standardizing Operational Guidelines

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended on the 5th that the Ministry of Education improve the human rights of specialized high school interns, including their right to learn and right to safety.

Yonhap News

The NHRCK stated, "It is the nation's role and a significant responsibility to prevent accidents involving interns in industrial sites and to guarantee their safety and rights," adding, "The Ministry of Education should clearly define the legal delegation relationship regarding the standards for operating on-site internships in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and its enforcement decree to ensure that specialized high school interns are guaranteed safety and rights."

The NHRCK said, "Although the Ministry of Education publishes and distributes a common manual for operating specialized high school internships every year, its content is closer to an administrative manual for school officials rather than guaranteeing students' safety and rights," and added, "It is difficult to say that it presents concrete standards for ensuring student safety."

The NHRCK noted, "Local ordinances on on-site internships vary by region, and some cities and provinces have not even established related regulations," emphasizing, "The government needs to organize the scattered related laws and regulations and establish standardized operating standards to protect the safety and rights of specialized high school students."

The NHRCK stated, "Currently, the items, survey methods, and disclosure methods of the on-site internship status surveys conducted under the Vocational Education and Training Promotion Act by the Ministry of Education and 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education differ, making unified data management difficult," and added, "Relevant agencies should cooperate to develop standardized survey items, methods, and disclosure methods, and build nationwide data that can ensure objectivity and reliability."

The NHRCK said, "Based on the survey results, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and other related ministries should regularly establish mid- to long-term basic plans and short-term detailed action plans, including matters related to the protection of interns' human rights and safety guarantees," and added, "It is necessary to regularly check the implementation results of these plans and improve related systems accordingly."