New Contracts to Protect Aspiring Teenage Stars from Abuse

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday presented to the Cabinet a standardized contract for aspiring teenage stars that would protect them from abuse.

The proposal comes after teen group GP Basic was put together in August from five middle schoolers and an elementary school student, setting a new record for the youngest manufactured band. Currently teen entertainers are employed by talent agencies on private contracts that offer little protection from abuse and are often subject to pressure to wear revealing clothes, practice long, grueling hours or skip school.

A recent government survey shows that 10 percent of teenage entertainers wore revealing clothing and 60 percent of those had been pressured to do so, while half of the respondents (48 percent) missed school for more than half a day per week.

The government plans to come up with detailed guidelines for a standardized contract by the second half of next year which is binding on talent agencies. It would protect teen entertainers from being mistreated and require them to attend school at least 147 days a year.