Children Victims of Neglect and Abuse Given Priority Access to Elementary Care... Parents Fined if Refused

Placement of 'Child Abuse Specialist Officials' in Si/Gun/Gu
Deletion of Disciplinary Authority under Civil Act Article 915

University Students' Field Training Must Be Paid at Least 75% of Minimum Wage

On the morning of September 22, in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, members of the National School Irregular Workers' Union held a press conference, holding placards to urge the legalization of elementary care classrooms and the full deployment of educational welfare workers in schools.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] Children who are judged to be victims of neglect abuse by dedicated abuse officers or child protection agencies will be given priority access to elementary after-school care classrooms. If parents refuse to use the care service, regulations for sanctions will also be established.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Education held the 17th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting at the Government Sejong Complex, which included these details.

First, as a result of checking the progress of the 'Child and Youth Abuse Prevention Measures' announced at the previous Social Relations Ministers' Meeting, when vulnerable children move, information is being linked to various agencies such as the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. By the end of this month, a nationwide 'Child Abuse Response Information Linkage Council' will be formed to facilitate information sharing on abused children.

Starting this month, about 100 city, county, and district offices will assign 'Child Abuse Dedicated Officers,' and local government officials will conduct abuse investigations in cooperation with child protection agencies. The disciplinary authority under Article 915 of the Civil Act, which was misunderstood as permitting corporal punishment by parents, will be deleted. Additionally, related guidelines have been revised to allow temporary separation of children showing apparent signs of physical abuse to protective facilities.

Furthermore, supplementary measures reflecting recent incidents such as the fire accident involving elementary school siblings in Incheon will be promoted. To protect children in blind spots such as neglect and emotional abuse, improvement plans will be prepared through the 'Child Abuse Punishment Strengthening Task Force (TF)' and consultations with courts and others will be pursued.

For children judged to be victims of neglect abuse by dedicated abuse officers or child protection agencies, priority access to elementary after-school care classrooms will be ensured, and if parents refuse, a fine will be imposed under the amended 'Child Welfare Act.'

Sanctions such as public disclosure of the names of those who fail to pay child support will be strengthened to ensure that children and youth from single-parent families receive quality care and education. To supplement the protection system for child abuse reporters, the scope of relief payments will be expanded through amendments to the 'Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act' to cover attorney fees related to false accusations and defamation lawsuits, and unfavorable administrative sanctions against reporters may be reduced or exempted.

◆ To prevent 'Passion Pay' controversies = Measures to improve the university student field training system were also discussed. The field training semester system under Article 22 of the Higher Education Act will be divided into a standard field training semester system and a voluntary field training semester system, with standardized operation criteria, procedures, and forms.

The training support allowance, which was previously decided autonomously through negotiations between universities and training institutions, will be paid at no less than 75% of the minimum wage. Even in the voluntary field training semester system, paid training will be the principle, but it can be operated unpaid under strict conditions. To strengthen the safety net for students participating in training, enrollment in accident insurance and industrial accident insurance will be mandatory, and pre-training safety education and measures for inappropriate training situations will be provided. Incentives for companies participating in university field training and industry-academia cooperation activities above a certain level are also expected to be significantly expanded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.