Safety Mechanism Established for Adolescents in the Popular Culture and Arts Industry

Youth Protection Officer System Introduced
to Safeguard Adolescent Workers in the Popular Culture and Arts Industry

A safety mechanism has been established to protect adolescents working in the field of popular culture and arts.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 1st that the revised 'Act on the Development of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry,' which includes the system for designating youth protection officers, will take effect starting this month.

This is a follow-up measure to the National Human Rights Commission's recommendation in March 2022 for institutional improvements to enhance the rights of child and adolescent popular culture and arts workers. The revision establishes an institutional foundation to protect the basic rights of adolescents, including their physical and mental health, right to education, right to personality, right to sleep, right to rest, and right to free choice.

Under the revision, when adolescents are active in the popular culture and arts industry, business operators are required to designate a youth protection officer from among their staff. Eligible candidates include executives, department heads, and those in charge of youth protection-related work. Once designated, the youth protection officer is responsible for receiving and handling reports of youth rights violations, managing the working hours of adolescent workers, reviewing contracts with adolescent popular culture and arts workers, and managing and storing related documents.

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism is granted the authority to request the submission of materials to protect the rights of adolescents. When necessary, the Minister may formally request relevant documents from business operators or production staff in the popular culture and arts industry.

On July 23, the Ministry held a briefing session on the youth protection officer system at the Content Korea Lab Enterprise Support Center, providing information to agencies, production companies, and other industry stakeholders.

An official stated, "We will continue to provide explanatory materials and self-checklists to help the industry understand and implement the system in practice," adding, "We will also continuously monitor the effectiveness of the system in production sites and review it as needed."