Ministry of Gender Equality to Discuss Youth Digital Safety... Collaboration with Ministry of Science and ICT, Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission

"2026 Youth Policy Forum" to Be Held on May 20
Experts and Youth to Participate... Policy Directions and Challenges to Be Discussed

A forum will be held to discuss policy directions for addressing new risk factors such as the spread of harmful digital content targeting youth and online sexual exploitation.

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family. 2026.4.3 Photo by Yongjun Cho

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will host the "2026 Youth Policy Forum: Youth and Policy Meet, Youth Digital Safety" at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on May 20. This forum has been organized to discuss policy directions for responding to new risk factors arising from the increasing integration of digital services such as artificial intelligence (AI) and social networking services (SNS) into daily life.

This forum is particularly significant as it will strengthen the whole-of-government cooperation system with the participation of three government agencies: the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and the Broadcasting and Media Communications Commission. The forum will proceed in order: expert presentations on key topics, case presentations by youth, and a discussion involving youth, experts, and relevant government officials.

Cheon Hyesun, Research Fellow at the Digital Industry Policy Institute, will introduce the changing patterns of risks faced by youth as digital technology advances, and will discuss the "Safety by Design" approach, which incorporates safety considerations from the platform design stage.

The "Safety by Design" approach means internalizing youth safety by reflecting types of risks defined by society in the policy design phase, even if it is not possible to predict all specific risks in advance.

Han Seojun, a student at Oseong High School, will present on the issues that youth experience firsthand in digital environments and propose policy improvement measures from the youth perspective.

The comprehensive discussion will be moderated by Lee Hoyoung, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Information Society Development Institute, and will include youth, experts in science and technology, education, and law, as well as officials from relevant ministries. The participants will discuss a wide range of policy directions and challenges for youth digital safety, including balancing youth protection and enhancement of digital literacy, strengthening platform accountability, expanding digital citizenship education, and establishing systems to respond to harmful content.

Won Minkyoung, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "We will continue to strengthen protection systems in close cooperation with relevant ministries so that youth can safely use digital environments, and will pursue integrated youth policies that respond to technological changes."

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