Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Republic of Korea (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report and asks it to provide information regarding the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that, according to article 62(1) of the Labour Standards Act (LSA) of 13 March 1997, as amended on 14 August 2001, a person under the age of 15 shall not be employed as a worker. It notes that article 10(1) of the LSA provides that this Act shall apply to all businesses or workplaces in which more than five workers are ordinarily employed. According to article 10(2) of the LSA and article 1-2 and table 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labour Standards Act of 27 March 1997, as amended on 3 March 1999, the provisions of the LSA pertaining to minors under 18 are also applicable to businesses and workplaces which ordinarily employ fewer than four workers. However, under article 10(1) of the LSA, the Act shall not apply to any business or workplace which employs only relatives living together, and to a worker who is hired for domestic work. The Committee therefore points out that the words of the Act exclude from its scope of application children and young persons working outside an employment contract, those working in businesses or workplaces which employ only relatives living together and those who are hired for domestic work. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary steps to include these categories of workers in the scope of application of the LSA.

Article 2, paragraph 3. The Committee takes note of the information contained in the Government’s report concerning the Compulsory Secondary Education Plan according to which education is to be compulsory up to the first grade of junior high schools by 2002 and up to the third grade of junior high schools in 2004, when the Plan is completed. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the Plan and to specify the age of the school-leaving children at each stage of the Plan. It also asks the Government to furnish a copy of the Framework Act on Education and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2. The Committee notes that article 63(1) of the LSA prohibits an employer from employing persons under 18 in hazardous and dangerous businesses in terms of morality or health. Article 63(3) provides that such prohibited occupations shall be determined by Presidential Decree. The Committee notes that, as regards types of work prohibited to persons under 18, article 37 of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA refers to table 2, which is not reproduced in the copy of the Decree available at the Office. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide a copy of the list of occupations prohibited to persons under 18. It also asks the Government to indicate whether the consultations required by this Article of the Convention have been conducted prior to the establishment of the list of hazardous occupations. The Committee notes furthermore from the Government’s report that article 2(5) of the Act on Youth Protection (AYP) specifies businesses prohibited to young persons and that article 24 of the same Act prohibits employers from employing young persons in businesses harmful to them. It asks the Government to furnish a copy of this Act.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 3. The Committee notes that article 70 of the LSA prohibits a minor under the age of 18 to do any work inside a pit provided, however, this shall not apply when the work is temporarily needed to perform the business as determined by Presidential Decree, such as health, medicine, news reports, news coverage, etc. The Committee recalls that, under these provisions of the Convention, the minimum age for admission to any type of employment or work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize the health, safety or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years, provided that such employment or work may be authorized by national laws or regulations or the competent authority, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, as from the age of 16 years on condition that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that the young persons have received adequate specific instruction or vocational training in the relevant branch of activity. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply a copy of the abovementioned Presidential Decree.

Article 6. The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no information relating to vocational training programmes for children and young persons. It asks the Government to indicate the age of the young persons admitted to work in undertakings for the purpose of their vocational training, to give information on the other conditions prescribed for such work and to indicate whether the consultations prescribed by this Article have taken place.

Article 7, paragraph 1. The Committee has already noted (under Article 2, paragraph 1, above) that article 62(1) of the LSA prohibits the employment as a worker of a person under the age of 15. The same article, however, authorizes such employment provided that an employment permit is issued by the Minister of Labour in accordance with the criteria determined by Presidential Decree. The Committee notes that, under article 55(11) of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA, the Minister of Labour shall delegate the authority related to the issuing of employment permits for persons under 15 years of age to the director of the district labour agency.

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report, according to which article 50 of the Work Guidelines for Labour Inspectors (WGLI) sets the requirements for the issuance of employment certificates, namely: (1) the work will be light work not detrimental to the health or morals of the worker concerned; (2) the work will not be deemed to cause danger or harm to the life, health or welfare of the worker concerned; (3) the working hours will not impede classes the worker concerned attends; and (4) the certificate will have agreements and opinions of a principal, a person with parental authority or a guardian. The Committee asks the Government to furnish a copy of the WGLI.

The Committee takes note of articles 31 to 36 of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA, which regulate the employment permit and the certificate for employment permit. It notes that article 33 provides that "with respect to types of work prescribed in article 37 of this Decree and duties deemed harmful or dangerous to persons under the age of 15, the Minister of Labour may not issue a certificate for approval of employment". The Committee asks the Government to specify to which kind of duties article 33 of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA refers.

The Committee also notes that, according to the Government, the provisions of article 62 of the LSA allowing the employment of persons under 15 only apply to persons aged from 13 to 15. The Government recognizes that the law does not provide the specific age allowed to receive an employment certificate, yet, with the enforcement of the Convention, the age of 13 was interpreted as the minimum age for the certificate. The Government states that this interpretation was directed as a guideline to regional labour offices and that a revision of the Enforcement Decree of the LSA is currently planned in view of specifying the minimum age of 13 for the delivery of an employment certificate. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information concerning the abovementioned revision and to furnish a copy of the new Enforcement Decree together with its table 2.

Article 9, paragraph 1. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a Youth Protection Committee was set up to take special measures to protect the youth. It asks the Government to supply a copy of the text establishing the Youth Protection Committee.

Article 9, paragraph 3. The Committee notes that article 64 of the LSA requests, as regards each minor worker under 18, that his employer keep at the workplace a copy of the census register testifying to his age. It asks the Government to supply a model of the said register.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical data contained in the Government’s report. It notes that, as a result of the monitoring campaign, 172 violation cases at 110 workplaces were reported and employers of those workplaces were ordered to correct the problems within 25 days. The employers of three workplaces where the problems were not corrected after the warning were punished under the law. The Committee notes that the violation cases included employers not keeping minor certificates, minors working at night or on holidays and overworking. It requests the Government to supply a copy of the court sentences pronounced in the three abovementioned cases of persisting violations. The Committee also asks the Government to continue supplying information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts from the reports of inspection services.