Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the results of a 2002 survey on youth in harmful work environments and requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that, pursuant to section 110(1) of the Labour Standards Act of 2008 (LSA), a person who violates section 64(1) of the LSA (prohibiting the employment of those under the age of 15 without an employment permit) is punished by imprisonment of up to two years or a fine not exceeding 10 million won (approximately US$8,258). The Committee also notes that a person who violates section 24(1) of the Youth Protection Act (prohibiting the employment young people under the age of 19 in harmful businesses) is punished by imprisonment of up to three years or a fine not exceeding 20 million won (approximately US$16,515).

Moreover, the Committee notes the information from the 2008 survey to assess the status of juveniles in contact with harmful environments in the Government’s report. This survey included 14,716 middle and high school students, and 1,597 youth in crisis (such as juvenile offenders, runaway youths and school dropouts), and indicated that 2.5 per cent of general adolescent respondents, and 23.7 per cent of youth in crisis surveyed, were engaged in employment (within the previous year) in harmful businesses, where the employment of young people is prohibited (such as clubs, cafés, video/DVD rooms, etc). The Committee also notes that, of adolescents who had been employed in such environments, 7.8 per cent of general adolescent respondents and 16.8 per cent of youths in crisis surveyed claimed that they were employed without having their age checked. The Committee notes that this is a significant decrease from the 2002 survey on the same subject, which indicated that 30 per cent of general adolescent respondents (and 55.3 per cent of adolescents in crisis) had been engaged without having their age checked. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the employment of youth in harmful environments, and it requests the Government to provide information on the number of penalties imposed in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the statistics supplied by the Government in its report. The Committee notes that, in 2007, the number of inspections of workplaces employing minors was 1,343, and the number of violations detected was 1,672. In 2008, the number of workplaces inspected was 1,318, and the number of violations detected was 2,567. The Committee also notes that, in 2007, these violations amounted to three violations for the employment of minors without an employment permit certificate, 447 violations for not keeping the required certificate of workers under 18 years of age, 63 working-hour violations, 120 violations of the ban on night and holiday work, 155 violations for the failure to pay minimum wage, and the remaining for violations of overall labour standards other than matters relating to the employment of minors. The Committee further notes that, in 2008, inspections found six violations for the employment of minors without an employment permit certificate, 469 violations for not keeping the required certificate of workers under 18 years of age, 86 working-hour violations, 41 violations of the ban on night and holiday work, 314 violations for the failure to pay minimum wage, and the remaining for violations of overall labour standards other than matters relating to the employment of minors.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the number of reported cases involving minors has increased each year (with overdue wages accounting for 92 per cent of total cases reported), and that a growing proportion of violations in those cases are remedied. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, in most cases, measures are taken to redress violations within seven to 25 days. Furthermore, the Committee notes that in 2008, a total of 990 cases involving minors were handled (an increase from the 602 cases handled in 2007) and that 89 of those cases received judicial treatment. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for example, statistical data on the employment of children and young persons, extracts from the reports of inspection services and information on the number and nature of any contraventions reported and penalties applied.