Banning kids from golf range is discrimination, human rights commission says

The exterior of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea is shown in this undated file photo. Korea Times file

The National Human Rights Commission of Korea ruled that an apartment complex’s blanket ban on children was discrimination and recommended the apartment's management lift it.

The complaint was brought to the commission by a resident of the complex who attempted to access the golf range with their child but was denied entry due to the child’s age.

The apartment’s management said the policy, which bars entry of all children under 14 to the facility, was in place to protect both adults and children, claiming its limited indoor space put children at increased risk of accidental collisions with objects such as golf clubs.

It cited an incident in which a mother had been struck on the head by her child’s golf club, resulting in a fracture.

The resident, however, told the commission that the policy constitutes ageism, given that they were accompanying their child and that golf is a sport even preschool children enjoy.

In a ruling released Tuesday, the commission sided with the parent.

It said, “It is unreasonable to impose a blanket ban on children to a recreational facility based on the prejudice that all children are vulnerable to safety risks without considering measures to ensure their well-being while using the facility.”

While acknowledging that safety concerns could justify such restrictions, the commission said that the range, as a communal space for all residents, should not bar children based on age, as each child has a different physique and athletic ability.

The commission noted that Korea is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that signatories “respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.”

It added that the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its 2013 adoption, said that excluding children from public spaces, such as shopping malls and parks, "builds a perception of children as 'problems'" and "has significant implications for their development as citizens."

The commission’s ruling is not legally binding.