Expansion of Support Projects Amid Low Birthrate Issue
Repeated Suspension Incidents as Local Governments Introduce Them
Prospective Couples Say "Support Projects Have Limitations"
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is relaunching the 'Small Wedding' project to support small-scale weddings for engaged couples. The aim is to reduce their economic burden, such as wedding costs, but since related projects have been repeatedly discontinued by local governments, consideration of its effectiveness seems necessary.
According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and related departments on the 23rd, an expansion of the Small Wedding project, which was previously promoted by the ministry, is under review. The Small Wedding project supports small-scale wedding costs and venues to alleviate the financial burden on engaged couples.
Previously, since 2012, the ministry launched the 'Small Wedding Information' website recommending public institution wedding halls nationwide where small weddings could be held. They also held Small Wedding fairs and conducted campaigns to encourage wedding culture.
Recently, it has been revealed that newlyweds spend anywhere from around 10 million to nearly 50 million KRW on wedding expenses. With concerns about the low birthrate issue, local governments have also introduced systems to support wedding costs. A ministry official explained, "At that time, the Small Wedding project was at the campaign level, but the project currently under review aims to find practical ways to support the costs involved in young people getting married."
Seoul City is extending the reservation period for ‘My Own Wedding,’ which allows renting public institution facilities as wedding halls at prices cheaper than market rates, from 6 months before the wedding to 1 year in advance. Daegu City also announced it will provide 1 million KRW each to 80 newlywed couples who held small weddings.
However, despite being promoted several times before, the Small Wedding support project has often been discontinued due to lack of effectiveness. In Jung-gu, Ulsan, a small wedding program was prepared last year but was discontinued after one year because no applicants applied. Incheon City also stopped the 'Incheon-style Small Wedding' support project in 2022 due to a shortage of applicants.
The ministry’s Small Wedding project was also criticized at the time of promotion for inadequate preparation, such as poor facilities and insufficient management of public institution wedding halls. It was also pointed out that only the venue was rented, and couples had to individually prepare buffet services, broadcasting equipment, and so on.
Therefore, to enhance the policy’s effectiveness, it seems necessary to consider both the actual support desired by engaged couples and qualitative aspects. Ms. Yoo (anonymous, female), a 30-something office worker preparing to marry this year, said, "I looked into projects by ministries and local governments during the wedding preparation process, but they were too small-scale and often required us to prepare the food ourselves, so I gave up. The wedding culture itself involves being conscious of others’ attention, so relying solely on government support has its limits."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
