PC Bang Employee's Late-Night Entry of Minors After Work... Constitutional Court Rules "No Liability"

Dismissal of Prosecutor's Deferred Indictment... "Violation of Equality and Pursuit of Happiness Rights"
"PC Bang Employees Are Not Game-Related Business Operators"

An employee of a PC bang who received a suspended indictment for allowing minors to enter during prohibited hours under the Game Industry Act was granted relief through a constitutional complaint.

The Game Industry Act includes provisions that punish 'game-related business operators' who allow minors to enter during late-night hours, but the Constitutional Court ruled that a PC bang employee is not considered a game-related business operator.

Additionally, although the Game Industry Act has a dual punishment clause that penalizes those who, even if not game-related business operators, effectively execute the duties of such operators, in this case, the minors entered the PC bang after the employee had finished work, and it was unclear whether the PC bang owner instructed the employee to take measures to prevent minors from entering. Therefore, it was judged difficult to recognize the charge.

Constitutional Court, Jaedong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Constitutional Court unanimously canceled the suspended indictment disposition given by the acting prosecutor of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office to employee A, who worked part-time at a PC bang in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon.

In its ruling, the Constitutional Court stated, "The suspended indictment disposition made by the respondent against the petitioner infringes on the petitioner’s right to equality and pursuit of happiness, and thus is canceled."

A was given a suspended indictment in November 2022 for allowing five minors to enter the PC bang where he worked part-time at around 1:30 a.m., violating the Game Industry Act.

A suspended indictment is a type of non-prosecution disposition by the prosecution, meaning "the charge is acknowledged but the prosecutor decides not to indict considering other circumstances." Therefore, a suspect who believes they are innocent can file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court against the prosecutor’s suspended indictment disposition.

Article 46, Clause 2 of the Game Industry Act stipulates that 'game-related business operators' must comply with minors’ entry hours (9 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and violations are punishable.

During the Constitutional Court’s review, the key issue was whether a part-time worker could be considered a game-related business operator responsible for complying with minors’ entry hours.

The Constitutional Court ruled in favor of A, stating, "A, who is merely a PC bang employee, is not included as a game-related business operator and therefore cannot be held criminally liable for violating the Game Industry Act."

Meanwhile, Article 47 (dual punishment clause) of the Game Industry Act states, "When a representative of a corporation or an agent, employee, or other worker of a corporation or individual commits a violation under Articles 44 to 46 in relation to the corporation’s or individual’s business, the corporation or individual shall also be fined in addition to punishing the offender."

Even PC bang employees can be subject to punishment under this provision if they are entrusted with and actually execute the duties of a game-related business operator.

However, the Constitutional Court judged, "A worked from 9 p.m. to midnight on weekdays, but on the day in question, the minors entered the PC bang after A had left work. It is unclear whether the owner instructed A to operate the unmanned entry machine installed to prevent minors from entering upon leaving work," and concluded, "It is difficult to consider A as a person entrusted by the owner to execute duties related to PC bang entry after leaving work."

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