[Exclusive] More Adolescent Parents to Qualify for Child-Rearing Support Next Year, but... Median-Income Threshold Raised by 1%?

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family: "Fewer eligible recipients due to low birth rate"
Even the reduced budget was not fully spent... Unused funds for third consecutive year
Jeong Chunsaeng: "Significantly ease eligibility requirements and expand

The government has launched a support program to ease the child-rearing costs of young parents, but the related budget has fallen by about 60% over the past three years. Critics say the program has not even spent all of its reduced budget, leaving nearly 20% unused last year.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Rep. Jeong Chunsaeng of the National Assembly’s Gender Equality and Family Committee, the budget for the child-rearing support program for young parents fell 58.7%, from 3.6 billion won in 2023 to 1.488 billion won this year. The budget has declined each year, from 2.25 billion won in 2024 to 1.59 billion won in 2025.

The ministry explained the budget cuts, saying, “Demand for the program has fallen as the number of young-parent households has decreased amid the low birth rate and other factors. We have adjusted the budget accordingly.”

Statistics from the Ministry of Data and Statistics show that the number of young-parent households fell 15.0%, from 1,987 in 2023 to 1,688 in 2024. Over the six years since 2020, the number has declined by an average of 18.1% annually. The number of children receiving support has also fallen. The number dropped 37.5%, from 1,442 in 2024 to 901 last year. A total of 612 children had received support through August this year.

However, the program has not spent all of its reduced budget. In 2023, only half of the 3.6 billion won budget, or 1.8 billion won, was spent, leaving the remaining 1.8 billion won (50.0%) unused. Last year, 1.291 billion won (81.2%) of the 1.59 billion won budget was spent, leaving 299 million won (18.8%) unspent. As of the end of September this year, 1.199 billion won (81.6%) of the current budget of 1.455 billion won had been spent.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family recently announced that, starting next year, it would expand eligibility for the child-rearing support program for young parents from households with income at or below 65% of the median income to those at or below 66%. The aim is to allow more young parents to receive support. The ministry also said it would step up outreach about the policy so that all young parents in need of support could benefit.

However, given that the budget has been cut on the grounds of declining demand and that unspent funds have been recorded for three consecutive years, it remains unclear to what extent easing the income threshold by 1 percentage point will actually expand the number of beneficiaries.

Rep. Jeong said, “We should significantly ease the requirements for child-rearing support and expand assistance so that young parents, many of whom have become estranged from their families of origin, do not give up raising their children despite difficult circumstances.”

Yonhap News Agency

The child-rearing support program for young parents provides 250,000 won per child per month to households in which both parents are 24 or younger and their recognized income is at or below 65% of the median income. Introduced in 2022, the program aims to ease the child-rearing burden on young parents and support their independence.

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