SUWON — The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education has called on the National Assembly to change the law to create a safer digital environment for young people.
The office held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 29th, attended by Superintendent Ahn Min-seok, to press for legislation and policy on what it called three reforms of social media use by youth.
Also present were Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the Democratic Party of Korea, Rep. Kim Jae-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party, Song Su-yeon, head of the Korean Federation of Teachers' Unions, Lee Gun, who leads the office's phone-free initiative, Choi Seung-il, former principal of Hwaseong High School, and a representative of parents.
The three reforms center on limiting recommendation algorithms, blocking direct messages from strangers and strengthening the responsibility of social media platforms.
The office first proposed a daily cap on recommendation algorithms served to children under 14. The idea is to introduce a voluntary rest mode that halts the recommendation function once use exceeds a set amount of time. The office said the measure would let young people manage their own time on social media and step back from excessive immersion.
It also urged that direct messages, or DMs, be blocked by default on youth accounts for anyone outside an approved circle such as friends or mutual followers. The step is intended to head off risky contact that can lead to cyber sex crimes, deepfake crimes, extortion and lures into drugs or gambling.
The office also called for greater accountability from platform companies. It said social media operators should tighten age verification and face legal responsibility and real penalties if they fail to properly carry out their duty to protect minors.
"Smartphones and social media are already deeply embedded in children's lives and learning," Ahn said. "It is hard to solve the problem through outright bans alone."
"The National Assembly and the education community must build an institutional fence so that young people can regulate their own use and be protected from the risk of crime," he added.
"It is now time to move beyond public debate to legislation," Ahn said. "We need a comprehensive plan at the national level."
Earlier in the day, Ahn attended a National Assembly seminar on the achievements of independence activist Ahn Hee-je, known by his pen name Baeksan, and their relevance to education today, held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building.
The seminar was arranged to revisit Ahn Hee-je's independence movement and educational work and to consider what that spirit means for education today. In congratulatory remarks, the superintendent cited Baeksan's work in cultivating talent and supporting the independence movement, and stressed the importance of history education that passes the history and spirit of the independence movement on to future generations accurately.
