Approved 13.9 Billion KRW Increase Over Government Proposal
1.5 Billion KRW Increase for Youth After-School Activity Budget
2.7 Billion KRW Increase for Digital Sex Crime Budget
"Measures to Improve Idolbom Must Be Established"
The Budget and Accounts Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Women and Family Committee increased next year's budget by 13.85 billion KRW. The budgets for youth activity support and digital sex crime victim support, which had been cut from this year's budget in the government proposal, were partially increased. The childcare allowance, which was unused last year due to a shortage of babysitters, was cut by about 38.4 billion KRW.
According to the '2025 Budget Proposal Subcommittee Review Results' of the Women and Family Committee on the 21st, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's budget for next year was approved at 1,870.73 billion KRW, an increase of 13.85 billion KRW from the original government proposal of 1,856.88 billion KRW after review by the National Assembly. This resulted in an increase of 52.7 billion KRW and a decrease of 38.9 billion KRW compared to the government proposal.
In particular, the budget for after-school youth activity support, which the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family had cut by about 1.1 billion KRW in the government proposal, was increased by about 1.5 billion KRW compared to the government proposal. The total Youth Development Fund was increased by 10.127 billion KRW compared to the original government proposal. Increases were made in support for the Korea Youth Activity Promotion Agency operation (6.065 billion KRW increase), construction of the Youth Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (3.25 billion KRW increase), support for the Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Institute operation (921 million KRW increase), construction of the National Youth Training Facility (100 million KRW increase), and child and youth sex crime prevention education (1.14 billion KRW increase).
As deepfake sex crimes spread, the budget for supporting victims of digital sex crimes also increased. The government proposal had cut budgets related to digital sex crime response and the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute. Accordingly, the budget for protecting the human rights of female violence victims within the support budget for the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute, which includes the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center, was increased by 2.7 billion KRW compared to the government proposal. Additionally, the budget for the digital sex crime specialized counseling center was approved at 1.536 billion KRW, an increase of 824 million KRW from the government proposal.
The budget related to the Child Support Enforcement Agency, which launched as an independent corporation this year, was increased by 2.672 billion KRW compared to the government proposal.
However, the budget for the childcare support project, which was unused by about 35.6 billion KRW last year, was significantly reduced compared to the government proposal. In particular, the childcare allowance budget was cut by 38.4 billion KRW compared to the government proposal. The Women and Family Committee's settlement review report last year pointed out that the detailed project execution rate, including the childcare allowance, was in the 80% range due to a lack of babysitter connections. However, the budget for service provider operation was increased by 5.545 billion KRW, and the budget for developing the babysitter qualification management system was increased by 300 million KRW compared to the government proposal.
Regarding this, the National Assembly requested that "various improvement measures be prepared in consultation with the financial authorities regarding the expansion of government-supported hours, improvement of working conditions for service provider staff, and the introduction of systems such as longevity allowances that practically help babysitters," and that "while maintaining the target of 120,000 households, if additional budget needs arise after achieving an execution rate of over 90%, the National Assembly will actively cooperate."
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