Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Confirms 2022 Budget of 1.465 Trillion KRW... 19% Increase from This Year

535 Billion KRW Increase Reflecting Childcare and Youth Parent Childcare Support
Expansion of Family Services for Low-Income Single Parents, Youth Parents, and Single-Person Households
Strengthening Social Safety Net for Out-of-School Youth and Support for Female Violence Victims

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's budget for 2022 has been finalized at 1.465 trillion KRW, an 18.9% increase from this year.

On the 3rd, the Ministry announced that the 2022 budget bill was approved at the National Assembly plenary session. During the parliamentary review process, the budget was increased by 53.5 billion KRW compared to the government proposal, reflecting expansions such as support for more households receiving childcare services and a pilot project budget for child-rearing support for adolescent parents.

The budget by sector is ▲Women and Gender Equality: 106.6 billion KRW ▲Family: 906.3 billion KRW ▲Youth: 271.7 billion KRW ▲Rights Protection: 135.2 billion KRW ▲Administrative Support: 46.6 billion KRW. Next year's budget focuses on expanding family services for low-income single-parent and adolescent-parent households, and one-person households, strengthening social safety nets for out-of-school youth, supporting victims of violence against women, and maintaining women's employment.

The budget for child-rearing support for low-income single-parent families is 421.3 billion KRW, an increase of 114.6 billion KRW from this year. Childcare allowances for single-parent families receiving livelihood benefits will be raised from 100,000 KRW to 200,000 KRW per month. When selecting recipients for childcare support, a 30% deduction will be applied to earned and business income. With the raised income eligibility criteria, the number of beneficiaries will increase from 204,000 to 221,000.

For low-income adolescent-parent households, the government support rate for childcare services will be raised from 85% to 90%. A pilot project providing childcare allowances to 3,000 adolescent-parent households will be implemented, and integrated case management and psychological counseling services will also begin next year.

The special support target age for at-risk youth will be extended from 18 to 24 years old, and the meal allowance for youth shelters will increase from 2,644 KRW to 3,500 KRW. The youth safety net teams will expand from 15 to 20. The related budget has been finalized at 55.9 billion KRW, an increase of 4.9 billion KRW from this year. The number of workers at youth recovery support facilities and youth independence support officers will also increase.

With strengthened information linkage for out-of-school youth in compulsory education stages, online educational content targeting elementary and middle school age groups will be developed, and career and vocational programs will be enhanced.

The age range for support in purchasing menstrual products for female youth will be expanded from the current 11 to 18 years old to 9 to 24 years old. The support amount for menstrual products will also increase from 138,000 KRW to 144,000 KRW annually. The related budget has been finalized at 12.6 billion KRW, an increase of 5.4 billion KRW from this year.

For budgets related to violence against women, to strengthen digital sex crime response capabilities, the number of regional specialized counseling centers supporting the deletion of illegal filming materials will increase from 7 to 10. Free legal support for victims of domestic and sexual violence will be extended to stalking victims as well. The related budgets are 400 million KRW and 3.2 billion KRW, respectively.

A new budget of 500 million KRW has been allocated for awareness improvement projects to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence in public institutions, including small-scale specialized training for senior officials and secondary victimization prevention training for investigative agencies. A new budget of 400 million KRW has also been allocated for policy research to establish a foundation for anti-human trafficking policies and for the pilot operation of a central rights protection agency.

To provide customized employment support for women with career interruptions, employment retention subsidies will be paid to Saeil Women Interns and companies, and a metropolitan specialized pilot project for preventing career interruptions and maintaining careers will be promoted. Multi-ministerial collaborative employment support services for professional workforce development will also be strengthened. The budget for preventing career interruptions, maintaining careers, and employment support has increased by 3.6 billion KRW to 73.7 billion KRW compared to this year.

To contribute to promoting gender equality in the Asia-Pacific region and the international community, the budget to support the operation of the UN Women Gender Equality Center has been set at 2.8 billion KRW, an increase of 1.8 billion KRW. To create a regional gender-equal environment, the number of hub-type gender equality centers will be expanded to two, and gender equality organizational culture diagnostics will be conducted targeting central government ministries, local governments, and public institutions.