(Ministry of Government Legislation) ● Updated Law: Child Welfare ActWhat it does: Protects abused children's access to education and strengthens government reviews of suspected child abuse deathsTook effect: Aug. 4South Korea has strengthened protections for abused children to ensure they can continue their education even when their parents or guardians are implicated in the abuse.Under the revised law, when all of a child's parents, guardians or other legally responsible caregivers are perpetrators of abuse, the head of a local government can request that education authorities enroll the child in school without the guardian's consent. The request can be made directly or through the school principal.Education authorities are required to comply with such requests, helping prevent abused children from being denied access to education because guardian consent cannot be obtained.The amendment also strengthens the government's ability to review suspected child abuse deaths. The minister of health and welfare can interview relevant individuals and request criminal justice information to conduct more thorough reviews of fatal cases.The changes are intended to identify shortcomings in the child protection system and help prevent similar deaths.Comprehensive support system introduced for semiconductor industry● Updated Law: Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Semiconductor IndustryWhat it does: Establishes a comprehensive legal framework to support South Korea's semiconductor industry and develop semiconductor clustersTook effect: Aug. 11South Korea has established a comprehensive legal framework to strengthen its semiconductor industry amid intensifying global competition in chip technology.Under the new law, the government will draw up a master plan every five years to strengthen the competitiveness of the semiconductor industry.The minister of trade, industry and resources can also designate semiconductor clusters to foster innovation and build a stronger domestic chip ecosystem.The central and local governments can build and support key infrastructure needed for semiconductor clusters, with priority given to funding related infrastructure costs.The measures are intended to provide more coordinated government support for the industry and strengthen South Korea's competitiveness in the global semiconductor market.Punitive damages introduced for intentional copyright infringement● Updated Law: Copyright ActWhat it does: Allows damages of up to five times proven losses for intentional copyright infringement and strengthens authorities' on-site enforcement powersTook effect: Aug. 11South Korea has strengthened penalties and enforcement measures against copyright infringement in an effort to better protect creators and curb the illegal distribution of copyrighted content.Under the revised law, courts can award copyright holders damages of up to five times their proven losses when copyright property rights are intentionally infringed.The law also expands the authority of relevant public officials conducting on-site enforcement. Officials can enter relevant premises to identify, collect, dispose of or delete illegal copies and devices used to circumvent copyright protections, as well as directly inspect related documents.Those who refuse, obstruct or evade such enforcement actions may face criminal penalties or administrative fines.The changes are intended to strengthen protections for Korean content creators and other copyright holders and promote a fairer copyright ecosystem.In collaboration with the Ministry of Government Legislation, The Korea Herald publishes a monthly feature introducing recently updated South Korean laws. The ministry's Easy Law service provides accessible summaries of Korean laws categorized by topic in English and 11 other languages: Arabic, Bengali, Cambodian, Simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Japanese, Mongolian, Nepali, Thai, Uzbek and Vietnamese. — Ed.