The ‘Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act’ was approved by the South Korean National Assembly’s Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee in April. The measure, which is often referred to as “A Second ‘Lee Seung Gi Crisis’ Prevention Act,” now mandates that entertainment companies submit regular financial account reports to the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee at least once a year.
The bill also gives the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism more authority to call workers and affiliates of entertainment agencies into question when they are being looked into for questionable or unlawful financial activities. Parts of this new law have also broadened the rules that must be followed to protect minors who work in the arts and popular culture.
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Industry affiliates denounce new laws regulating maximum work hours for underaged minor K-Pop artistshttps://t.co/4gH191IJzd
— allkpop (@allkpop) May 17, 2023
Underage children’s right to an education will no longer be violated by entertainment companies, and undue pressure to maintain one’s appearance as well as the use of aggressive or abusive language would also be prohibited. Perhaps most importantly, there are very stringent rules regarding the maximum number of hours that minors are entitled to labor.
A maximum of 35 hours per week can now be worked by individuals over the age of 15, 30 hours by those between the ages of 12 and 15, and 25 hours by those under the age of 12 per week.
It is commonly known that the unfair treatment that singer/actor Lee Seung Gi endured for around 18 years while working as an artist for Hook Entertainment had a big impact on the new rules. However, other business partners asserted that the introduction of more stringent labor laws for adolescents under the age of 18 came as a surprise blow to them.
