Due to COVID-19, 3 out of 10 single parents face 'income reduction'... "81% do not receive child support"

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family 2021 Single-Parent Family Survey

The photo is not related to any specific part of the article. / Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A survey revealed that 80% of single parents raising children alone do not receive child support from the non-custodial parent. Additionally, one in four single parents reported a decrease in income levels since the pandemic.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the results of the '2021 Single-Parent Family Survey' on the 23rd. The survey was conducted from July to November last year, targeting 3,300 heads of single-parent households nationwide. Single-parent families refer to families consisting of a single parent and children under the age of 18, where one or both parents are deceased, divorced, separated, abandoned, or unmarried mothers, and the parent is solely responsible for raising the children.

The survey results showed that, similar to the 2018 survey, 80.7% of single-parent families did not receive child support. 72.1% responded that they had never received child support, and 8.6% had not received it recently. 15.0% reported receiving regular payments until recently.

54.4% of single-parent families were receiving government support through basic livelihood security or low-income single-parent programs. The proportion receiving government support increased from 46.0% in 2018, exceeding half.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family analyzed this as the effect of continuous policy expansion, including extending the age of supported children from under 14 to under 18 and increasing child-rearing allowances.

Average Monthly Income of Single-Parent Families.
Photo by Ministry of Gender Equality and Family

The average monthly income of single-parent families was 2,453,000 KRW, an increase from 1,996,000 KRW in 2018. However, this was only 58.8% of the average income of all households.

During the COVID-19 period, 14.0% experienced layoffs, resignations, or business closures. 47.4% maintained the same income level as before COVID-19, while 25.4% experienced a decrease in income, and 5.2% became unemployed.

Meanwhile, the average age of single parents who responded to the survey was 43.6 years old, raising an average of 1.5 children after divorce (81.6%), and households centered on mothers and children accounted for 67.4% of single-parent families.