NHRC Issues Recommendation to Ministry of Culture and Tourism to promote legal and institutional reforms for youth
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a recommendation to the Minister of Culture and Tourism to reform the laws and institutions related to “youth” rates, or discounted fares to young people (age 9 to 24) using public facilities or public transportation such that youth who are not in school can also receive the discounted youth rates, and recognized that petitioner Park’s right of equality (Constitution, article 12) was violated with no reasonable cause. The recommendation follows a May 2003 complaint brought forward by Mr. Park, age 16, who charged that excluding youth who don’t go to school from the youth rates was discriminatory.
The NHRC investigation found that among the 3 million non-school-going youth in Korea, 500,000 were between 9 and 18 whereas 2.5 million were between 19 and 24 years of age, inclusively. The investigation also found that according to a Ministry of Construction and Transportation directive, the regulation on state-operated railway (a Korean National Railroad notification,) and city and province ordinances, youth are discounted from 20% to 50% of the regular fare under “student discount” provisions for transportation, and for use of public facilities, youth are discounted from 10% to 50% according to internal regulations and negotiation (consultation between related agencies) if they are students.
The NHRC also noted positive efforts made by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MOCT)—the government agency responsible for policies cultivating and supporting youth—to better the overall legal and institutional environment for youth by entering consultation with other agencies toward incorporating provisions giving youth preferential treatment and discounts into a framework law on youth. Despite this positive assessment of MOCT work, the NHRC concluded that there was a need to quickly promote legal and institutional reforms relating to youth in consideration of the growing numbers of youth unable to go to school owing to socio-economic adversity, and that now is the time that the state and society must pay even more attention to youth than ever.
