[2026 Parliamentary Audit] "96% of Teen Cyber Gambling Cases Occur at School... Education Offices Need Follow-Up Action"

Kim Heejung, Chair of the National Assembly Education Committee: "Gambling Prevention Education Reaches Only the 80% Range
We Must Look Beyond Smartphone Restrictions and Monitor Potential Incidents"

Kim Hee-jung, chair of the National Assembly's Education Committee, said on October 14 that 96% of cases in which teenagers voluntarily reported cyber gambling had occurred at school, and called on education authorities to assess the situation and take follow-up action.

At a parliamentary audit of the Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon education offices by the National Assembly's Education Committee that day, Kim said, "According to data on teenagers' voluntary reports of cyber gambling that we received from the National Police Agency, covering the three-month period from May 18 to August 31 this year, cyber gambling that occurred at school accounted for 96% of all reported cases."

According to the data, 204 cases were reported in Seoul and 350 in Gyeonggi Province. During the voluntary reporting period, some teenagers were also found to have been victims of illegal private lending, including loan-sharking.

Kim said, "Smartphone addiction could lead to other crimes involving teenagers. We should not stop at simply banning smartphones; we need to look into the incidents that are actually happening behind the scenes."

In response, Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Jeong Geun-sik said, "We will work with the National Police Agency to develop measures based on more detailed data."

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education Superintendent An Min-seok said, "I believe gambling, drug and social media problems are interconnected. I hope a bipartisan task force will be formed to address gambling, drugs and social media, and develop plans for how to respond legally and institutionally and what role education superintendents should play on the ground."

The implementation of gambling prevention education in schools also came under scrutiny.

Kim said, "The Act on the Integrated Supervision of the Gambling Industry was amended in 2025, and since May this year, schools have been legally required to provide gambling prevention education for teenagers at least twice a year. But the proportion of schools that have provided it so far is only in the 80% range." She added, "There have been no reports on inspections or follow-up measures for schools that have not provided the education," and urged authorities to ensure that compliance with the mandatory education requirement reaches 100%.

She also highlighted the need for education in digital self-regulation.

Kim said, "The Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon education offices are all focused on restricting smartphones, and we found no digital self-regulation education. In addition to media literacy and citizenship education, digital self-regulation education must also be strengthened."

Superintendent Jeong responded, "We are encouraging schools to discuss this issue more autonomously and to adopt their own regulations."

Superintendent An, who is implementing the "Phone-Free School" policy to limit smartphone use at school, also said, "We are taking the lead in addressing children's social media and smartphone problems. We will give further attention to the issues raised by the committee chair."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.