"Raised My Child Without Receiving a Penny"... Bad Fathers Withholding Child Support for 20 Years

List of 366 Child Support Delinquents Made Public
Total Unpaid Amount Reaches 17.3 Billion Won; Largest Single Case at 344.3 Million Won
Average Delinquency Period 5 Years 6 Months; Most Offenders in Their 40s

A case has been confirmed in which child support, which should have been paid to a child after divorce, has not been provided for more than 20 years. In some cases, the unpaid amount exceeds 300 million won.

On May 31, Yonhap News reported, citing the Child Support Enforcement Agency under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, that a total of 366 individuals were listed as child support defaulters subject to public disclosure over the past three years.

The total amount of unpaid child support reached approximately 17,313,970,000 won. The average unpaid amount per person was about 47.3 million won, with the highest outstanding amount recorded at 344,307,000 won. The lowest outstanding amount was confirmed to be 2.8 million won.

The average period during which child support was not paid was found to be 5 years and 6 months. The longest period of non-payment was 20 years and 7 months, while the shortest was 7 months.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Min-Kyung Won visiting the Child Support Enforcement Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul last April. Photo by Yonhap News

The average age of the defaulters was 44 years. By age group, those in their 40s were the most numerous at 168, followed by those in their 50s (94), 30s (92), 20s (8), and 60s (4).

Among the cases where occupation was confirmed, office workers accounted for the highest number at 59. They were followed by daily workers (8), self-employed individuals (7), and corporate representatives (2). However, in 282 cases, the occupation was not identified, making up the majority of the total.

According to the current Child Support Enforcement Act, public disclosure of names is permitted if a person: ▲ fails to fulfill a lump-sum payment order issued through a family lawsuit for more than 30 days; ▲ fails to pay child support three or more times after receiving a payment order; or ▲ has unpaid child support exceeding 30 million won.

At the Child Support Enforcement Agency, it is possible to check the defaulter's name, age, occupation, address or workplace, period of default, and child support arrears.

In addition to public disclosure, sanctions such as travel bans and suspension of driver's licenses may be imposed on child support defaulters. The number of such sanctions has been steadily increasing, rising from 359 cases in 2022 to 639 in 2023, 947 in 2024, and reaching 1,389 last year.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has announced plans to strengthen its response to secure the enforcement of child support payments. A ministry official stated, "Together with the Child Support Enforcement Agency, we plan to further strengthen support for counseling and litigation, as well as enforcement measures such as collection and seizure."

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