A survey found that more than 6 out of 10 youth outside the school system are not receiving essential health screenings. In particular, some youth in facilities such as probation offices were exposed to high-risk environments involving smoking, drinking, and gambling without any protection.
According to the '2025 Final Report on the Survey of Youth Outside the School System' submitted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Heo Jong-sik, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker on the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, on the 1st, the participation rate in government-supported free health screenings was low at 38.9% (less than 4 out of 10). This contrasts with the fact that nearly all elementary, middle, and high school students attending school receive health screenings.
The survey was conducted from June to September last year targeting 2,811 youth outside the school system aged 9 to 24 who use six institutional investors and locations: Youth Support Centers Outside School, short-term youth shelters, alternative education institutional investor, probation offices, juvenile correctional facilities, and general high school equivalency exam registration sites.
21.4% of youth outside the school system answered that they had 'never heard of' the free health screening system. In particular, 51.7% of youth in probation offices and 67.3% of youth in juvenile correctional facilities said they did not know about the system, highlighting a clear information imbalance within protective facilities. The health screening participation rate among youth at general high school equivalency exam registration sites who were not affiliated with Youth Support Centers Outside School was only 14.1%.
Amidst neglected basic health management, exposure to high-risk behaviors is at a serious level. The current smoking rate among all youth outside the school system was 20.4%, and the drinking rate was 20.3%. In particular, the smoking rate among youth in probation offices was overwhelmingly high at 85.0%, and the drinking rate was 47.3%, indicating an urgent need for health and guidance management that goes beyond crime prevention. The experience rate of betting games (gambling) within the past three months was 6.1%, and the lifetime experience rate was 16.3%. The proportion of gambling experience among youth in juvenile correctional facilities (67.6%) and probation offices (44.5%) stood out, showing a close link between delinquency and gambling.
Such gaps in health and medical management led to deteriorating physical and mental health indicators. 27.9% of all youth outside the school system were overweight or obese (18.7% obese, 9.2% overweight). The obesity rate among youth in juvenile correctional facilities reached 37.6%, twice the overall average.
31.1% of youth experienced severe depression that interrupted daily life for two consecutive weeks recently, and the proportion with a lifetime experience of self-harm attempts was recorded at 34.9%. The rate of suicidal ideation within the past 12 months was 21.1%, and the suicide attempt rate within the past 12 months was 7.8%. The proportion with an experience of drug use was 1.2%.
Heo (Rep.) emphasized, "Youth who have stepped outside the official health and medical framework of school have extremely low health screening participation rates, and high-risk environments such as smoking, drinking, and gambling are filling that void." He added, "In particular, the government, Local Government, and the National Health Insurance Service should proactively identify youth outside the school system in blind spots for health and welfare, such as juvenile correctional facilities, probation offices, and general high school equivalency exam registration sites, encourage their participation in health screenings, and closely link addiction healing and psychological support programs."
Health screenings for youth outside the school system have been conducted by the National Health Insurance Service under a commission from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family since 2016. Starting next year, it will also conduct health screenings for youth within schools under a commission from the Ministry of Education.
Regarding this, the National Health Insurance Service stated, "Screening targets are registered at Youth Support Centers Outside School, and the service encourages participation by mailing health screening forms and guides to selected targets and sending notification texts." It added, "We also implement various promotional events to encourage applications for health screenings."
in THEBIO
