Gender Ministry unveils 5-year plan to protect teens from online, offline threats

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will conduct a joint inspection of sexual exploitation and unsuitable businesses to protect children and adolescents from harmful environments.

In order to keep children away from potentially damaging environments, the ministry will conduct a crackdown on businesses deemed inappropriate for adolescents to visit or work at. The ministry will first clarify the type of facilities and businesses that teenagers should stay away from, and then conduct a joint government inspection on potentially new harmful businesses, such as room cafes.

To strengthen countermeasures against digital sex crimes targeting teenagers, a survey on child and youth sexual exploitation will be conducted from this year, and internet service providers will receive governmental support to install filtering technologies and software.

Regarding the problem of adolescents' excessive dependence on media, the ministry plans to expand support for internet addiction diagnosis tests and treatments, as well as coming up with measures to prevent excessive personal information exposure.

The Gender Ministry will also support the needs of teenagers when it comes to diverse education programs, particularly with programs related to coding or artificial intelligence, which is necessary in the digital era. Programs for career exploration, culture, art and physical education will also be provided.

Information on these programs will be available through a new platform where users can search for and book those that they want to participate in, as well as check their activity history, the ministry explained. The platform is currently under development, and the exact date of its release is yet to be set.

The Gender Ministry also stressed issues surrounding vulnerable adolescents, such as runaways and children who need to support their family from young ages.

Although the overall youth population is decreasing due to the low birthrate and aging population, the number of teenagers who need support and protection has been increasing. Among those aged 9 to 19, the number living outside of their family households has increased from 20,875 in 2020 to 28,643 in 2022, based on a runaway report confirmed by police.

The ministry plans to establish an integrated information system for vulnerable adolescents by 2024 to effectively identify and manage teenagers in need. It also plans to build additional nationwide youth counseling welfare centers and boarding shelters, in addition to expanding mental health programs.

It will also push for a revision of the Youth Welfare Support Act to specify the basis for self-reliance support for teenagers who are relying on youth welfare facilities.