Increased Budget of 45.6 Billion Won for Childcare Support
Single-Parent Family Childcare Budget Up by 17.2 Billion Won
Slight Increase in Support for At-Risk Youth and Violence Victims
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will increase its budget for next year by about 90 billion KRW compared to the previous year, despite ongoing controversies over the ministry's abolition and a ministerial vacancy. The increased budget is primarily allocated to support for childcare services and child-rearing expenses for single-parent families.
On the 30th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it has prepared the 2025 budget at 1.8163 trillion KRW, a 5.4% (about 92.9 billion KRW) increase from this year's main budget. By sector, the family policy budget increased by 6.1% (about 73.4 billion KRW), marking the largest increase. Additionally, the gender equality policy budget rose by 6.1% (about 15 billion KRW), and the youth policy budget increased by 2.4% (about 5.7 billion KRW). The administrative support budget decreased by 2.8% (about 1.2 billion KRW).
The Ministry will expand support for childcare services. The childcare support budget increased by about 45.6 billion KRW compared to this year. The ministry relaxed government support eligibility from households earning up to 150% of the median income to those earning up to 200% of the median income, and raised the government support rates for 'Day-type' households (income between 120-150%) and households with school-age children (ages 6-12). To improve the treatment of childcare workers, the childcare allowance will be raised from 11,630 KRW per hour to 12,180 KRW per hour, with an additional 1,500 KRW per hour provided for infant care allowances.
The budget for child-rearing support for single-parent families will also be increased. Approximately 17.2 billion KRW more than this year will be allocated for child-rearing expenses for children in single-parent families. The ministry explained that the monthly child-rearing expense support for low-income single-parent families will be raised from 210,000 KRW to 230,000 KRW, and the support for school supplies will be expanded to include elementary school students. Furthermore, a new budget of 16.2 billion KRW has been allocated to introduce the 'Advance Child Support Payment System,' where the state pays child support in advance and later recovers the amount from the obligor. The budget for welfare support facilities for single-parent families will also increase by about 600 million KRW compared to this year.
The budget for projects promoting women's economic activities has increased by about 12.5 billion KRW. Through this, the ministry plans to expand high value-added vocational training courses at the Women New Employment Centers and increase new support for participation allowances in vocational education and training. The budget for customized education to enhance diversity within companies will also increase by about 220 million KRW.
Support for at-risk and vulnerable youth will also be expanded. The budget for independence support allowances for out-of-home youth will increase by about 580 million KRW next year. The budget for menstrual product support for female youth will also increase by about 1.6 billion KRW next year. A new budget of about 550 million KRW has been allocated for self-directed activity programs and specialized projects to support youth in regions experiencing population decline.
Budgets for victims of violence, including dating violence and digital sex crimes, have also been partially increased. The budget for supporting victims of violence increased by 3.729 billion KRW, and the budget for preventing violence against women increased by 639 million KRW. Among these, the budget for operating protection facilities for sexual violence victims will increase by about 545 million KRW compared to this year. The budget for operating regional specialized counseling centers for digital sex crimes will also increase by about 99 million KRW. A new budget of 300 million KRW has been allocated next year for preventing new types of crimes such as dating violence, stalking, and sexually explicit fake videos (deepfakes).
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