Seoul to Double Beneficiaries of 'Hope Double Youth Account'... Recruiting 7,000 This Year

Monthly Income Threshold Relaxed from 2.37 Million Won to 2.55 Million Won
Save 100,000-150,000 Won Monthly for 2-3 Years with 100% Market Price Matching... 35,000 New Selections Over 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is easing the income requirements for subscribers of the ‘Hope Double Youth Account,’ which matches 100% of the amount saved by young people, effectively doubling their savings, and will select 7,000 new participants this year to support them.

On the 28th, Seoul announced that the income criteria will be relaxed from the original monthly income of 2.37 million KRW or less to 2.55 million KRW or less (140% or less of the median income), considering the minimum wage increase. The number of participants will more than double from 3,000 last year.

The ‘Hope Double Youth Account’ is an asset-building support program designed to help working youth who are anxious about their future plans to establish stable and concrete future plans and become self-reliant. If a working youth consistently saves 100,000 KRW or 150,000 KRW monthly for 2 to 3 years, Seoul City’s budget and private funds will additionally deposit 100% of the saved amount, allowing them to receive more than double the amount saved. For example, if one saves 150,000 KRW monthly for 3 years, they can receive their own savings of 5.4 million KRW plus Seoul City’s matching amount of 5.4 million KRW, totaling 10.8 million KRW, along with interest provided by partner banks.

Seoul has helped a total of 11,049 people build assets through the ‘Hope Double Youth Account’ over the past six years. Last year, 13,462 people applied for 3,000 spots (a competition rate of 4.5 to 1), showing strong interest and response from young people.

Including this year’s supplementary budget, Seoul will invest 14.7 billion KRW to select 7,000 participants and plans to recruit and select 7,000 new subscribers annually for five years until 2025, totaling 35,000 new participants.

This year, applications for the ‘Hope Double Youth Account’ will be accepted from August 2 to August 20. Applicants can submit their application forms by visiting their local community service center in person or apply by mail or email. Selected youth will receive not only matched savings support but also various high-quality services provided by the Seoul Welfare Foundation, which manages the program, including financial education for reasonable financial consumption, special lectures by professional instructors, and one-on-one financial consulting.

Additionally, Seoul is recruiting 300 subscribers for the ‘Kkumnarae Account,’ which supports asset building for low-income households raising children under 14 years old. The ‘Kkumnarae Account’ is a savings account where low-income households with children who need education expenses can save for 3 or 5 years, and the city matches 50% to 100% of the saved amount, allowing them to receive 1.5 to 2 times their own savings. Eligible households are those with children under 14 years old and with income at or below 80% of the median income.

In particular, to strengthen support for multi-child families, the criteria are relaxed to 90% or less of the median income (4-person household 기준 monthly 4.38 million KRW) for families with three or more children. For non-beneficiary families with three or more children, saving 120,000 KRW monthly for 5 years will allow them to receive up to 10.8 million KRW.

Jung Soo-yong, Director of Welfare Policy at Seoul City, said, "Seoul has eased the subscription conditions and more than doubled the number of participants for the ‘Hope Double Youth Account’ so that more young people can save diligently, have opportunities to build assets, and establish future plans such as housing, marriage, and entrepreneurship to become self-reliant." He added, "We will continue to spare no support for the better daily lives and futures of young people."