How Much is Too Much? FTC: Restrictions on Korean Girl Groups

On June 17^th, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) announced that they made revisions in their guidelines/rules in order to secure the rights of teenage idol stars. The focus of this change was for the human rights of teenage celebrities in the 10-something age groups, to restrict their “excessive exposure.”

In the revised “contract” (basically guidelines) a new clause was added stating that entertainment agencies are now required to guarantee the rights of teenage celebrities. (The list is added on including health, education, personality, rest, freedom, and etc. Basically your basic rights.)

That clause was added in because of the fact that teenage celebrities weren’t getting significant amount of rest.

In another new clause, they added that an agency must check the age of a celebrity, and if they are children or teenagers, those celebrities could not be used for excessive exposure for the sake of popularity. This clause was added in order to restrict young idol stars from becoming “sex icons.”

The third clause added more restrictions for teenage idols saying that they could not be over-worked.

It’s great that the FTC is setting guidelines in recognition of the recent trend in teenage celebrities; however these guidelines are unenforceable. In the long run, these revisions could be viewed as a stepping stone for more protection for our Kpop stars. Currently, however, it is unknown how much of a significant impact these revisions will have on K-Pop.

A Japanese news source, Sankei Sports, wrote on the 19^th that revisions were created in order to restrict excessive exposure, and that many were now curious as to what changes that would mean for K-Pop.

Source: Star News