4 out of 10 teenagers in Gangwon-do work without a work contract

(Chuncheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Yang Ji-woong = Approximately 4 out of 10 teenagers in the Gangwon region were found to be working without receiving an employment contract.

According to the '2026 Youth Employment Status Survey' announced by the Gangwon-do Youth Activity Promotion Center after recently surveying 3,853 youths in the province, 28.4% of respondents were found to have worked without writing an employment contract.

It was found that 10.8% wrote an employment contract but did not receive it.

Additionally, the proportion of workers receiving less than minimum wage was found to be 32.4%. By region, Gangneung, Samcheok, and Yanggu had the highest rate of receiving less than minimum wage.

14.7% of workers did not receive weekly holiday pay even though they worked within the standards.

Although 44.1% had additional work experience, 12.1% of them did not receive compensation for this.

As a result of a survey on experiences of being treated unfairly while working part-time, 7.8% responded that they had experienced such treatment.

Looking at specific cases, the most common cases were those who were disadvantaged while working because they were young, followed by those who were paid less than the employer had agreed to pay.

Some responded that they had experienced abusive language, assault, or even sexual harassment or sexual assault.

However, it was found that 18.8% of working youth who were treated unfairly did not take any action, and 18.8% stopped working.

They said that the best place to work is a place that respects teenagers and does not treat them roughly.

They also answered that a good workplace is one that pays the promised wages, explains in detail when mistakes are made, and follows the Labor Standards Act.

Senior researcher Kim Joon-young said on the 5th, "If youth have their rights violated, active intervention by professional organizations is necessary," and suggested, "There is a need to strengthen education and promotion of youth labor rights and monitoring of companies regarding compliance with laws."