Joe.My.God. LGBT News
CNN reports:
More than 51 million people in South Korea awoke on Wednesday to find themselves a year or two younger – at least, according to the law.
Under legislation that came into effect Wednesday, “all judicial and administrative areas” across the East Asian country will adopt the “international age” system used by most of the world, ending years of debate about the problems caused by the formerly common use of “Korean age” and “calendar age.”
Standardizing ages will “reduce various social confusions and disputes,” said Lee Wan-kyu, the Minister of Government Legislation, at a news briefing on Monday.
The BBC reports:
President Yoon Suk Yeol pushed strongly for the change when he ran for office last year. The traditional age-counting methods created “unnecessary social and economic costs”, he said. For instance, disputes have arisen over insurance pay-outs and determining eligibility for government assistance programmes.
Previously, the most widely used calculation method in Korea was the centuries-old “Korean age” system, in which a person turns one at birth and gains a year on 1 January. This means a baby born on 31 December will be two years old the next day.
A separate “counting age” system, that was also traditionally used in the country, considers a person zero at birth and adds a year on 1 January.
The Guardian reports:
The national assembly, which approved the change in December, said it would “resolve the social confusion caused by the mixed use of age calculations and the resulting side effects”.
The system has attracted criticism in recent years from politicians who argue that it causes confusion and makes South Korea, a global technological and cultural power, appear out of step with the rest of the world.
The change will not suddenly deprive people of the right to legally buy cigarettes or alcohol, or change the year in which they enter compulsory education or become eligible for up to 21 months of national service – a legal requirement for all able-bodied men.