Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Reports 2023 Major Work Plan
Announces Full-Scale Implementation Plan for 3 Main Goals and 6 Core Tasks
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The number of single-parent families eligible for university child-rearing support will increase by 30,000, and the enforcement rate of child support payments will also improve. Additionally, the self-reliance support allowance for out-of-home youth who have left shelters will be raised to 400,000 KRW.
On the 9th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family reported the 2023 major work promotion plan containing these details at the Blue House State Guest House.
In the report, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family set three major goals: △ creating a warmer and safer society for the vulnerable △ nurturing future talents to overcome the low birthrate and low growth crisis △ advancing social services for meticulous and reliable support, and announced that it will actively promote six core tasks to achieve these goals.
[Companionship] Creating a Warmer and Safer Society for the Vulnerable
Diverse Families, Meticulous Support
First, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to expand the child-rearing support target for low-income single-parent families by 30,000 and increase the current child support enforcement rate of about 40% to 55% by 2027. To this end, the eligibility criteria were expanded from households with median income below 52% as of last October to below 58%, and from January this year, relaxed further to below 60%. Through this, about 30,000 children from single-parent families have newly become eligible for support. Additionally, for adolescent single parents (under 24 years old), the eligibility criteria have been expanded from below 60% to below 65% of the median income.
Interview visitation services between non-custodial parents and children, as well as information provision and counseling related to child support enforcement, will be expanded nationwide, and monitoring support for entrusted lawsuits will be increased. At the same time, sanctions for child support enforcement will be strengthened. A legal basis will be established to check the income and assets of child support debtors, and the period for the subject to present their opinion during public disclosure of names will be shortened from over 90 days to at least 10 days to simplify procedures. The Ministry expects the child support enforcement rate to rise from 40.3% last year to 55% by 2027 through these measures.
Strengthening Child and Youth Protection Measures
Measures to protect children and youth more safely are also included in this major work promotion plan. By next year, the Ministry will establish an ‘Integrated Support Information System for At-risk Youth’ and expand youth counseling 1388 personnel and local government youth safety network teams to actively identify at-risk youth through enhanced outreach online counseling.
Furthermore, psychological clinics for youth in crisis, such as those at risk of suicide or self-harm, will operate at youth counseling and welfare centers nationwide, and clinical psychologists, mental health professionals, will be assigned to 17 city and provincial centers. The number of youth companions who directly visit at-risk youth for case management will increase from 1,363 to 1,398. The National Youth Didim Center, which specializes in healing youth with learning, emotional, and behavioral problems, will be additionally established in Iksan City, Jeonbuk Province, and Gwangju City by 2027.
The self-reliance support allowance for out-of-home youth who have left shelters will be raised from 300,000 KRW to 400,000 KRW per month, and the number of self-reliance support officers will increase to 13 locations. ‘Reclusive youth,’ who were previously outside the scope of policy support, will now be included as special support targets for at-risk youth and will be able to receive living expenses, treatment costs, and academic support.
Since last year, 25 dedicated personnel have been newly assigned to the ‘Sunflower Center-linked Victim Video Testimony Project’ to strengthen protection for child and youth victims of sexual violence. Measures to relax the stay period in protective facilities from age 21 to 24 for minor sexual violence victims to support their protection and preparation for independence are also being pursued.
Among child and youth sex offenders subject to public disclosure of personal information, if they commit another crime and are incarcerated, the disclosure of personal information will be suspended during imprisonment and resumed after release to enhance the effectiveness of the system. Plans are underway to impose criminal penalties such as fines on sex offenders who violate employment restriction orders, and a first-ever survey on child and youth sexual exploitation materials will be conducted this year.
Expanding Protection and Support for Victims of Five Major Violence Crimes
Additionally, to strengthen integrated support for victims of five major violence crimes including sexual violence, stalking, and digital sex crimes, the Ministry will establish an ‘Integrated Solution Support Team’ at the Women’s Emergency Call Center 1366 to provide one-stop support from initial emergency assistance to daily life recovery for complex damages.
Regarding the passage of the ‘Act on Prevention of Stalking and Protection of Victims’ in the National Assembly, pilot projects for housing support (10 locations) and treatment recovery programs (17 locations) tailored to stalking victim characteristics will be newly implemented, and a standard guideline for stalking prevention will be developed and distributed.
For digital sex crimes, the number of regionally specialized counseling centers will increase from 10 to 14, and a real-time reporting and response system will be established to directly connect police and victim support agencies when signs of sexual exploitation of children and youth are detected.
For domestic violence and sexual violence cases, a protection facility for male victims will be established for the first time, and the scope of children accompanying domestic violence victims admitted to protection facilities will be expanded from infants to children. Also, the emergency kit treatment fee for collecting sexual violence evidence will be increased from 75,000 KRW to 100,000 KRW per kit to reflect actual costs.
Regarding the ‘Act on Prevention of Human Trafficking and Protection of Victims,’ which came into effect on the 1st, a comprehensive plan will be established jointly with related ministries in the first half of this year, and pilot projects for victim support will be promoted.
Care expenses for former Japanese military comfort women victims will be increased by 8% to 3.13 million KRW per month to strengthen livelihood stability support. The Ministry also plans to focus on raising awareness of wartime sexual violence issues through the Research Institute on the Japanese Military Comfort Women Issue.
[Future] Nurturing Future Talents to Overcome the Low Birthrate and Low Growth Crisis
A Society of Caring and Working Together
To reduce the childcare burden on dual-income households, the Ministry will expand the annual support hours for childcare services from 840 to 960 hours and increase the number of supported households from 75,000 to 85,000.
The number of family-friendly certified companies will increase from the current 5,415 to 5,800, and the designation of top companies will be expanded to spread a family-friendly workplace culture. For women in their 20s and 30s, vocational education and training in future promising and high value-added fields such as IT, AI, and bio will be expanded to 74 courses, and customized services for career preparation, maintenance, and transition throughout the life cycle will be expanded for women at high risk of career interruption and companies.
The ‘3rd Basic Plan for Gender Equality Policy’ (2023?2027), reflecting changes in perceptions and demands across gender and generations, will be established and announced in January, and organizational culture diagnosis and improvement support will be expanded from administrative agencies to public institutions.
Youth-Centered Future Talent Development
The Ministry will strengthen the linkage between schools and youth facilities so that youth can engage in various activities inside and outside school in a ‘wider school.’ To this end, the Ministry plans to continuously promote business agreements such as youth policy companionship with 17 cities and provinces and their respective education offices.
Reflecting the characteristics and needs of the digital-native generation of youth, activity programs utilizing artificial intelligence, drones, big data, virtual and augmented reality will be expanded. In this regard, the 25th World Scout Jamboree 2023 Saemangeum, in which youth from over 170 countries will participate, will be held in August.
Out-of-school youth will be included in the Korean Scholarship Foundation’s student loan support target, and educational spaces based on extended virtual worlds (metaverse) will be established to strengthen learning and career support. Also, the number of dedicated spaces for out-of-school youth will increase from 44 to 54, and customized support such as meals and health checkups will be expanded.
Furthermore, advanced learning courses will be developed to help multicultural youth who use bilingualism demonstrate their strengths, and career counseling and basic learning support projects for multicultural youth will be expanded.
[Innovation] Advancing Social Services for Meticulous and Reliable Support
Innovation in Family and Youth Support Services
The Ministry plans to expand childcare worker training to the private sector to increase personnel and institutionalize standards for registering private childcare service providers so that citizens can use private care services with confidence.
In addition, the Ministry will support the establishment and operation of complex youth centers that provide integrated support for youth activities and welfare services within the community, and develop standard models for urban and rural areas considering regional characteristics.
A cooperative system will be established between administrative welfare centers, the National Secretary System, and family centers to quickly identify families in need. To this end, the Ministry plans to form social networks to prevent isolation and loneliness and expand life-cycle tailored services for single-person households, such as hospital accompaniment and emergency care in crisis situations.
Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hyun-sook said, “As we enter the second year of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, we will achieve results in implementing national tasks such as ‘families where no one is left behind’ and ‘establishing a protection and support system for crime victims’ by providing stronger protection for the vulnerable such as single-parent families, at-risk youth, and victims of violence, and advancing policies with a sense of urgency.” She added, “We will also actively work to streamline the family and youth service system for more meticulous support.”
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