Preventing New and Variant Harmful Environments: Blocking Mutant Room Cafes and Drugs to Protect Youth

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Announces Joint Youth Protection Measures with Related Ministries

The government is taking full-scale measures to block new and emerging harmful environments targeting youth, such as variant room cafes and drugs.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that, in cooperation with related ministries, it has prepared the "Youth Protection Measures from New and Emerging Harmful Environments" and finalized it at the 20th Youth Policy Committee meeting.

First, by revising the notification on establishments prohibited for youth entry and employment, facility standards such as partitions, locks, doors, and walls will be specified to ensure safe use by youth and guarantee the lawful business rights of operators.

Nationwide joint inspections and crackdowns by public and private sectors, which were previously conducted during school vacations, before and after the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and immediately after school starts, will now also be conducted after midterm exams. Additionally, in cooperation with organizations such as the Small Enterprise and Market Service, education targeting small business owners related to youth protection will be provided.

A plan has also been established to investigate drug use among youth admitted to probation offices or juvenile detention centers and link them to rehabilitation programs.

The Ministry of Justice will investigate drug use history through in-depth interviews at all stages of juvenile treatment, including youth delinquency prevention centers, probation offices, and juvenile detention centers. If rehabilitation is deemed necessary during this process, youth with emotional and behavioral issues will be connected to the National Youth Didim Center under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the number of teenage drug offenders increased approximately 3.4 times from 143 in 2018 to 481 in 2022.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare also plans to conduct a survey this year to accurately grasp the current status of youth drug use. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to conduct an in-depth investigation of drug and pharmaceutical contact status in its biennial survey on harmful environments for youth.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will develop and distribute drug prevention education materials for out-of-school youth, and the Ministry of Education will provide drug misuse prevention education, including drugs, to elementary, middle, and high school students.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission will introduce written review procedures to promptly block online drug transactions and advertisements. Currently, reviews are conducted face-to-face once or twice a week, which limits the immediate blocking of online drug-related information. Therefore, the Commission plans to conduct about five written electronic reviews per week through legal amendments.

On-site crackdowns on youth drug crimes will also be strengthened. The National Police Agency and local governments will focus on cracking down on the provision of drug beverages claiming to enhance "concentration and memory" around schools and academies.

The Prosecutors' Office and the National Police Agency will arrest and investigate drug suppliers targeting youth and actively apply aggravated punishments such as life imprisonment or imprisonment for five years or more.

The government has also decided to strictly respond to youth violence and exploitation occurring in online communities such as the "Depression Gallery."

Outreach counseling will be promoted during peak usage times on online media and communities preferred by youth, and clinical psychologists will be assigned to Youth Counseling and Welfare Centers to provide mental health counseling for high-risk youth who have experienced cyber violence.

To prevent secondary harm from cyber violence, amendments to the School Violence Prevention Act will be pursued to include cyber violence in the prohibition of contact, threats, and retaliation against victim students and students who report or accuse violent students.

Illegal and obscene information distribution and suspected grooming (manipulative sexual crimes) activities on social networking services (SNS) will be continuously monitored, and child and youth sexual exploitation materials will be proactively deleted even without requests from legal guardians.

For the first time this year, a survey will be conducted to understand public awareness, victim status and patterns, and support needs related to child and youth sexual exploitation materials.

Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "We will work closely with related ministries to effectively implement these measures and do our best to ensure that youth can grow up safely and healthily."

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