Your child wants to ride an electric kick scooter like their friends, and if it is the route between school and cram school, they ask even more urgently. But under the Road Traffic Act a kick scooter is not a bicycle. It is a "personal mobility device", a type of motorised bicycle, and riding one is blocked by age. This article is based on the Road Traffic Act (as in force from 13 October 2026) and its Enforcement Decree (in force from 2 October 2026), checked on the National Law Information Center on 20 October 2026.

In law a kick scooter is a "personal mobility device", grouped with bicycles as "bicycles and the like"

Article 2 of the Road Traffic Act defines a personal mobility device as a motorised bicycle that, above 25 km/h, no longer runs on its motor and weighs less than 30 kg, as set by Ministry of the Interior and Safety ordinance.
The same article groups bicycles and personal mobility devices together as "bicycles and the like". So the rules on helmets, night lighting and crosswalks apply to both.
But a kick scooter is a motorised bicycle, so unlike a bicycle it raises a licence question.

If a child under 13 rides on a road, the guardian pays the fine

Article 11(4) says a child's guardian must not let the child operate a personal mobility device on a road. A child means someone under 13.
A breach falls under the fines in Article 160(2), and the fine schedule in the Enforcement Decree lists "a guardian of a child who let the child operate a personal mobility device" at KRW 100,000.
The key point is that the penalty falls on the guardian, not the child. It applies where the child is made to ride on a "road", and the specific judgement should follow police guidance.

Children aged 13 to 15 cannot get a licence, so they are unlicensed the moment they ride

Under Article 80, driving a motorised bicycle requires a driver's licence, and the closest one is the Class 2 motorised bicycle licence.
But Article 82(1) says no one under 16 can obtain a licence for a motorised bicycle.
So children aged 13 to 15 are outside the "child" rule but cannot get a licence, and riding a kick scooter is unlicensed driving.

From age 16 a motorised bicycle licence is still required, and riding without one is punishable

At 16 a child can take the test, but that does not mean riding without a licence is allowed. Article 43 bans unlicensed driving.
Article 156, item 13, punishes riding a personal mobility device without a motorised bicycle licence with a fine of up to KRW 200,000, detention or a minor fine. The decree's schedule of penalty notices lists "unlicensed riding of a personal mobility device" at KRW 100,000 for bicycles and the like.
It is enough to know that a penalty notice is an amount the police notify, and that if it is not paid the matter can go to court.

Even with a licence, helmets, passengers and night rules apply separately

Article 50(4) requires the rider of a bicycle or the like to wear the protective gear set by ministry ordinance on bicycle paths and roads under the Road Act, and to make any passenger wear it too. The decree's schedule lists not wearing it as a penalty-notice offence, but this article could not confirm the amount, so none is given.
Under paragraph 10, a scooter rider must not carry a passenger beyond the seating capacity set by ministry ordinance.
Paragraph 9 says that on a road at night you must turn on the headlight and tail light or wear a light-emitting device such as a reflective band. Riding a scooter drunk carries a penalty notice of KRW 100,000 under the decree's schedule (KRW 30,000 for a bicycle), and refusing a breath test KRW 130,000 (KRW 100,000 for a bicycle).

At crosswalks you dismount and walk, and the sidewalk exception should not be stretched to scooters

Article 13-2(6) says a rider of a bicycle or the like crossing at a crosswalk must dismount and walk, pushing or carrying it. This covers both bicycles and scooters.
Be careful about sidewalks. Paragraph 4 of the same article lets children, older people and people with disabilities use the sidewalk in certain cases when riding a "bicycle", and even then they must slow down and stop if they obstruct pedestrians. The text says bicycle, so it should not be read as allowing a scooter on the sidewalk.
The area in front of a school at commuting hours is also a child protection zone. The rules on stopping and parking there are covered separately in Even a Brief Stop to Drop Your Child Off at School Counts as Stopping.

Guardians have separate duties when a child rides a bicycle

Article 11(3) says a guardian must make a child wear protective gear when the child rides a bicycle or a high-risk play device on a road. Putting the helmet on is a guardian's responsibility written into the law.
Responsibility for a child's behaviour falling on the guardian appears in other systems too, such as the rule that a guardian must attend special education with an offending student. For another case where the law sets school safety, see the places where school cameras are mandatory.

Order of steps and where to check

1) Under 13, do not let the child ride on a road. The guardian's fine is KRW 100,000. 2) At 13 to 15, no licence can be obtained, so do not ride. 3) From 16, check the motorised bicycle licence first. 4) Even with a licence, follow the rules on helmets, no passengers, night lights and dismounting at crosswalks. 5) When your child rides a bicycle, put a helmet on them.
At 16 many teenagers start looking for part-time work. For the paperwork then, see A Parent Cannot Sign a Minor's Part-Time Job Contract.
This article does not replace legal advice. Check the latest text on the National Law Information Center, and enforcement and penalty guidance on the National Police Agency's Traffic Civil Service (Gyotong Minwon 24).