More than one-third of Korean teenagers with work experience started working before the legal age of 15, with one in 10 beginning as early as before 13, a recent report revealed, prompting calls for improved monitoring of illegal child labor and working conditions.
The report, released last month by the state-run National Youth Policy Institute, is based on a survey of 7,212 middle and high school students. Of them, 1,414 students --– 231 in middle school and 1,183 in high school – said they had worked for pay.
Among them, 11.3 percent said they began working before turning 13. Those who started between the ages of 13 and 15 accounted for 23.2 percent while 60.9 percent started between 15 and 18. In total, 34.5 percent of respondents reported beginning work before that the legal age of 15.
Notably, while only 3 percent of high school respondents said they started working before age 13, the proportion was significantly higher among middle school students, at 31.2 percent. This report analyzed that earning money at an early age is rapidly spreading among younger age groups.
When asked whether they had experienced workplace abuse such as overdue wages, verbal abuse or sexual harassment, 952 teenagers who had worked in the past year said “yes,” accounting for 34.5 percent of those surveyed.
Specifically, 17.4 percent (with multiple answers allowed) said they were not paid on time, 17.1 percent said they did not receive designated break time, 13.7 percent said they were paid less than promised or not at all, and 10.1 percent said they were verbally, physically or sexually harassed by employers or managers.
However, only 17.9 percent of those experienced such treatment filed complaints or reported the incidents to authorities.
The most common jobs among teenage workers were restaurant work at 40.1 percent, followed by wedding hall jobs at 17.1 percent, YouTube content creation at 13.9 percent, assisting at events at 11.8 percent and distributing fliers at 11.7 percent.
The report stated, “As digital platform labor spreads, more young teenagers are participating, leading to increased cases where work does not align with legal age requirements. Educating younger teenagers on labor rights will help reduce workplace misconduct.”
The report also referenced International Labor Organization standards, which prohibit labor for individuals under 15 who are still subject to mandatory education. It recommended revising labor laws to raise the minimum working age from 15 to 16.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
