Park Hongkeun: "Single-Person Households Below 3.85 Million Won... Supplementary Support Payments Expected Late April to May"

Hongkeun Park, Minister of Planning and Budget, stated on March 31 that regarding the eligibility criteria for the local-currency-type subsidies included in the supplementary budget, “For a single-person household, the income threshold for the lowest 70% is about 3.85 million won per month, and for a two-person household, it is around 6.3 million won per month.”

Minister Park appeared on KBS News that day and provided this detailed explanation of the government’s “lowest 70% income” standard.

Hongkeun Park, nominee for Minister of Planning and Budget, is delivering an opening statement at the confirmation hearing held on March 23 at the National Assembly's Committee on Finance and Economy Planning. 2026.3.23 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

The government has prepared a supplementary budget totaling 26.2 trillion won, allocating 4.8 trillion won of this to provide local-currency-type subsidies to approximately 35.8 million people. Each recipient will receive between a minimum of 100,000 won and a maximum of 600,000 won. The basic payment is 100,000 won, with additional support given to residents in local areas and vulnerable groups.

Regarding the timing of the payments, Minister Park said, “For people in the next-lowest income class, single-parent households, and basic livelihood security recipients, since administrative data is already available, payments can be made at the end of April once the bill passes the National Assembly.” He added, “For all other eligible recipients, since income must be calculated based on health insurance premiums, it is highly likely payments will be made in May.”

He also explained, “The lowest 70% income group is equivalent to 150% of the median income, in other words, the middle class.” He continued, “We included this group among the recipients, considering that they are more affected by inflation and economic slowdown than high-income earners.”

Regarding concerns that the supplementary budget could fuel inflation, he stressed, “Both the Bank of Korea and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) believe the impact on inflation will be limited.” He emphasized, “Since it will be implemented without issuing government bonds, the impact on market interest rates or inflation should also be minimal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.