'Man-nai Tong-il-beop' Exceptions Include School Enrollment, Alcohol and Tobacco Purchase, Military Service, and Civil Service Exam Eligibility

Revised Civil Act and Framework Act on Administrative Regulations to Take Effect from the 28th

Ahead of the enforcement of the so-called 'Age Calculation Standardization Act,' which unifies age calculation to the 'international age' system, the Ministry of Government Legislation has explained exceptions where the previously used 'year age' will still apply even after the revised laws take effect.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Government Legislation released a press statement titled "What Changes and What Does Not Change with the Enforcement of the Age Calculation Standardization Act," clarifying that systems already using international age, such as voting rights and pension eligibility, will remain unchanged, while school entry age, legal age for purchasing alcohol and tobacco, and military service obligations will not apply the international age.

In South Korea, three different age calculation methods?'Korean age' (se-neun nai), 'year age' (nyeon nai), and 'international age' (man nai)?have been used interchangeably. However, internationally, age is calculated starting at zero at birth and increases by one each birthday, which is the 'international age' system.

To resolve confusion and various legal and administrative disputes caused by the coexistence of multiple age calculation methods, the government revised the Civil Act and the Framework Act on Administrative Procedures last December to standardize age calculation to the international age. The revised Civil Act and Framework Act will take effect on the 28th.

First, Article 158 of the Civil Act, which previously only stated "the date of birth shall be included in age calculation," has been amended to read: "Age shall be calculated as the international age including the date of birth and expressed in years. However, if the age is less than one year, it may be expressed in months." The title of the article was also changed to Article 158 (Calculation and Expression of Age).

Additionally, the Framework Act on Administrative Procedures newly established Article 7-2 (Calculation and Expression of Age in Administrative Matters), stating: "Age in administrative matters shall be calculated as the international age including the date of birth and expressed in years, except where other laws provide special provisions. However, if the age is less than one year, it may be expressed in months."

Once the revised laws are enforced, unless individual laws specify otherwise, age for administrative and civil purposes will be calculated based on the international age as a general rule.

Accordingly, age specified in laws, contracts, medication guides, and company regulations should be understood as international age unless otherwise stated.

Policies and systems already operating based on international age, such as voting rights under the Public Official Election Act (18 years or older), eligibility for old-age pensions under the National Pension Act and Basic Pension Act, retirement age (60 years or older) under the Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and Promotion of Elderly Employment, and senior citizen discounts (65 years or older) under the Senior Welfare Act, will remain as they are.

Even after the enforcement of the Age Calculation Standardization Act, exceptions will be made where applying international age is impractical for public convenience in areas such as employment, education, and group living.

Representative exceptions include ▲school entry age ▲purchase of alcohol and tobacco ▲military service obligations ▲civil service exam eligibility.

According to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, children enter elementary school starting March 1 of the year following the year they turn six years old by international age. Based on this year, children born in 2016 will enter school regardless of their birthday, and based on next year, children born in 2017 will enter school.

Article 2, Clause 1 of the Youth Protection Act defines "youth" as a person under 19 years of international age. However, those who have reached January 1 of the year they turn 19 are excluded. Thus, anyone whose birth year subtracted from the current year is less than 19 qualifies, meaning that based on this year, individuals born in 2004 can purchase alcohol and tobacco regardless of their birthday.

Regarding military service obligations under the Military Service Act, age is calculated by subtracting the birth year from the current year, and based on this year, those born in 2004 will undergo military physical examinations regardless of their birthday.

For civil service exam eligibility, according to the Public Officials Appointment Examination Decree, those born in 2003 can apply for Grade 7 or higher or correction/protection series exams, and those born in 2005 can apply for Grade 8 or lower exams, based on this year.

Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Ministry of Government Legislation, stated, "For public convenience, the revised law will not apply international age in certain areas such as school entry age and purchase of alcohol and tobacco even after enforcement. We will strengthen communication and publicity targeting relevant policy subjects and stakeholders to ensure the Age Calculation Standardization Act is well established and to minimize public confusion."

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