Next Year’s 'Standard Median Income' to Increase by 5.02%... Livelihood Benefit Eligibility for 4-Person Household Set Below 1.54 Million Won

At the 63rd meeting of the Central Welfare Committee held on the 30th, Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare, is speaking. (Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Next year's 'standard median income' has increased by 5.02% compared to this year. The standard median income is an indicator used as the selection criterion for beneficiaries in various welfare programs, including the Basic Livelihood Security Program.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held the 63rd meeting of the Central Livelihood Security Committee and announced that it reviewed and approved the 2022 standard median income along with the selection criteria and minimum guarantee levels for each benefit. The 2022 standard median income decided on that day is 5,121,080 KRW for a four-person household, up 5.02% from this year's 4,876,290 KRW.

The standard median income is the median value of national household income. It is used as the selection criterion for beneficiaries in 77 welfare programs across 12 ministries, including the Basic Livelihood Security Program.

Following the change in the standard median income, the selection criteria for livelihood, medical, housing, and education benefits were also revised. For each benefit, livelihood benefits are provided to households earning 30% or less of the standard median income, medical benefits to those earning 40% or less, housing benefits to those earning 46% or less, and education benefits to those earning 50% or less.

The beneficiary criteria for next year based on a four-person household are ▲livelihood benefit 1,536,324 KRW ▲medical benefit 2,048,432 KRW ▲housing benefit 2,355,697 KRW ▲education benefit 2,560,540 KRW.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said, "I hope that we can quickly overcome the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and that the lives of small business owners and low-income groups will improve significantly next year. I also hope that the increase in the 2022 standard median income, which serves as the basis for the Basic Livelihood Security Program and various welfare projects, will be of some help."