Child Care Subsidy Eligibility Expanded to Households Earning Up to 250% of Median Income
Increased Child Care Allowance and New Infant Care Benefit Introduced
More Staff Added for Digital Sexual Crime Response
Starting next year, the number of households eligible for government-supported child care services will increase by 6,000 compared to this year. For single-parent and grandparent-headed families, the government-supported service hours will be expanded from 960 hours per year to 1,080 hours per year. In areas experiencing population decline, households using the service will receive an additional 10% subsidy on their out-of-pocket expenses.
On August 29, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that the '2026 Government Budget Plan,' which contains these measures, was approved at a Cabinet meeting. The ministry's budget for next year is set at 1.9866 trillion won, an 11.8% increase from this year's 1.7777 trillion won.
The ministry explained, "The budget has been allocated with a focus on key priorities, such as expanding support for diverse families and child care, supporting the healthy development of youth, and creating a safe and gender-equal society."
First, to address gaps in care services, the government has significantly strengthened the home-based child care service. The eligibility criteria have been relaxed from households earning up to 200% of the median income to those earning up to 250%. The number of supported households will increase from 120,000 to 126,000.
To ease the child-rearing burden on low-income single-parent families, the income threshold for welfare benefits has been relaxed (from 63% or less of the median income to 65% or less). The additional child-rearing allowance (for single mothers or fathers, grandparent-headed families, and young single parents) has been raised from 50,000-100,000 won per month to 100,000 won per month. The annual allowance for children's school supplies will increase from 93,000 won to 100,000 won, and the living support allowance for single-parent families in welfare facilities will rise from 50,000 won to 100,000 won per month.
To strengthen the recovery of advance child support payments, which began in July this year, the ministry will add 13 more staff members to the Child Support Enforcement Agency.
In addition, various family support programs have been strengthened. The number of family centers offering integrated services for vulnerable and at-risk families (the Whole Family Embrace Project) will increase from 227 to 233. Shared child care centers will launch pilot programs in some regions to extend their operating hours into the evening.
Programs for youth will also be expanded. The one-stop package support project for isolated and reclusive youth will be increased, and the number of specialized psychological clinic professionals for youth at high risk of suicide or self-harm will rise from 105 to 124.
Furthermore, to support youth independence, the government will newly support the Growth Workplace Project for out-of-home youth in three youth welfare facilities. The number of recipients of the monthly 500,000 won self-reliance allowance for youth leaving facilities will increase from 440 to 540.
The budget for integrated digital sexual crime response, which covers digital sexual crimes, domestic violence, and dating violence, will rise significantly from 4.5 billion won this year to 6.2 billion won next year.
Officials at the Korea Women's Rights Promotion Agency's Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center are deleting illegal videos. Photo by Jo Yongjun
According to the Korea Women's Rights Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center assisted 10,305 victims last year, a 14.7% increase from the previous year. Notably, the number of deepfake-related cases reached 1,384, more than tripling year-on-year. However, with only 18 dedicated staff responsible for content deletion, each person handled an average of 7,500 cases in the first half of this year. With the expanded budget, salaries for five additional full-time employees have been included.
Support for victims of violence against women has also been expanded. To enhance the safety and personal protection of victims, 924 million won has been allocated to strengthen the functions of shelters, and 153 million won has been budgeted for security equipment such as expanded CCTV for victims of stalking and dating violence. In particular, a new monthly self-reliance allowance of 500,000 won has been established for youth victims of sexual exploitation leaving shelters.
The ministry stated, "We plan to thoroughly implement practical, everyday policies that people can feel, by promoting child care and parenting, supporting women's economic participation, fostering the healthy development of youth, and ensuring the swift recovery of victims of violence."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
