Newlywed Couples with Annual Income of 85 Million Won Eligible for Didimdol Home Purchase Loan

Support Loan Annual Income Requirement Raised to 75 Million Won

Starting tomorrow, newlywed couples with a combined annual income of 85 million KRW will also be able to use the Didimdol loan to purchase their own home. The Beotimok loan for jeonse deposits is available to couples with a combined annual income of 75 million KRW or less.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that from the 6th, it will expand the eligibility for housing and urban fund support to alleviate the housing cost burden for newlywed couples. This will be done by raising the income requirements for housing purchase and jeonse deposit loans by 15 million KRW each, following up on the low birthrate policy direction announced in March and the economic policy direction for the second half of the year announced in July.

Until now, newlywed couples had to meet an annual combined income requirement of 70 million KRW, in addition to being a household head without a home and having net assets of 506 million KRW or less, to qualify for the Didimdol loan. The Beotimok loan was available to household heads without a home whose combined annual income was 60 million KRW or less and net assets were 361 million KRW or less.

Compared to single-income households, dual-income couples were inevitably at a disadvantage in meeting income requirements. According to the '2021 Newlywed Couple Statistics' released by Statistics Korea, the average income of dual-income couples was 80.4 million KRW. As a result, many delayed registering their marriage to prepare for homeownership, leading to the coining of the term "marriage penalty."

In response, the government decided to relax the income requirements for newlywed couples’ Didimdol and Beotimok loans by 15 million KRW each, raising them to 85 million KRW and 75 million KRW respectively. The interest rates for the Didimdol loan will be 2.45?3.55% per annum (previously 2.45?3.30%), and for the Beotimok loan, 2.1?2.9% per annum (previously 2.1?2.7%).

However, the collateral housing appraisal value requirement for the Didimdol loan (up to 600 million KRW) and the deposit requirement for the Beotimok loan (30 million KRW in the metropolitan area and 20 million KRW outside, based on fewer than two children) remain unchanged. The maximum loan limits also remain at 400 million KRW for the Didimdol loan and 120 million KRW in the metropolitan area and 80 million KRW outside for the Beotimok loan.

The government also plans to implement a special newborn loan for couples who have children early next year, pending budget review by the National Assembly. This loan will be available to couples with a combined annual income of 130 million KRW or less. Interest rates will be around 1.6?3.3% per annum for housing purchase loans and 1.1?3.0% per annum for jeonse deposit loans.

Jin Hyun-hwan, Director of the Housing and Land Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We expect the housing cost burden for newlywed couples to be alleviated," adding, "We will continue to review supplementary measures going forward."