The number of young applicants for part-time jobs is expected to surge in the coming weeks as the annual college entrance exam took place last Thursday.

Seoul YMCA said Monday younger jobseekers, aged 18-20, must check the basic labor laws and regulations such as the nation’s minimum wage and the upper ceiling on working hours when signing on for part-time positions.

Citing its previous poll of 1,540 high school students, Seoul YMCA said that employers of young part-time workers break an average of one-third of the items in the Labor Standards Act.

The civic group released information about labor conditions for young part-time job seekers in a media release.

The minimum wage has been set at 5,210 won ($4.80) per hour this year even if the employee is not an adult. Teh minimum wage will climb to 5,580 won from January.

“More than 80 percent of students with part-time jobs were misinformed about the minimum wage,” said the association. “They were found to have believed that they could be paid less than the minimum wage during their apprenticeship.”

But the law stipulates that the minimum wage is applicable to apprentices when the contract period is less than a year.

Further, the employees are entitled to extra payment ― or 50 percent of the regular salary ― when they work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., on holidays or above the number of hours specified in the contract.

Employees younger than 18 are not allowed to work more than seven hours per day, or 40 hours per week.

Under-18 workers are also barred from working during holidays or at night. If they are willing, they are entitled to work one extra hour per day.

The association said that the 1,540 students who were surveyed scored only 44 out of 100 on average in terms of their knowledge of basic rules regarding part-time work contracts.

Seoul YMCA said it plans to conduct a campaign on the human rights of part-timers by handing out guidebooks to about 300 high schools throughout the city.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)