The South Korean government will pay 1 million won ($720) to couples who register their marriages starting next year, regardless of income. It will also channel a record budget into family and care policy, easing child-rearing costs for single-parent households and expanding childcare services.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said the Cabinet approved its 2027 budget plan containing these measures at a meeting on the 1st. The budget totals 2.1191 trillion won, up 5.5% from 2.0087 trillion won this year.
Family policy drew the largest increase. The area was allocated 1.5044 trillion won, about 104.5 billion won more than this year, reflecting the ministry's policy focus on strengthening support and care for families of diverse forms.
The ministry set aside 166.3 billion won for a new "marriage subsidy" to ease the financial burden of early married life. Couples who register their marriage on or after January 1 next year are eligible. The government plans to pay 500,000 won per person, or 1 million won per couple, regardless of age or income.
The existing marriage tax credit had a limitation in that only those with taxable income could benefit. With that program expiring at the end of this year, the government decided to switch to a cash payment to close the gap between those with and without income.
Support for child-rearing in single-parent households will also expand. The eligibility threshold for child-rearing allowances will be eased to 66% of median income from 65%, increasing the number of recipients to 270,000 from 257,000. Pregnant unmarried and single parents will also receive a new "pre-birth parenting allowance" of 230,000 won a month for three months to help them prepare for childbirth.
The budget for supporting single-person households and families with migrant backgrounds increased by 28.7 billion won. Support had previously centered on vulnerable families facing economic hardship or families in crisis situations such as divorce or the death of a family member.
For childcare services, the government will raise its subsidy rate for households with school-age children by 5 to 10 percentage points to eliminate gaps in support based on a child's age. It will also improve service quality by running care programs tailored to local conditions and expanding continuing education for childcare workers.
In youth policy, the focus is on identifying and supporting at-risk young people. The ministry will spend 3.8 billion won to establish a central center for the Youth 1388 telephone counseling line and introduce an integrated management system. Staff at regional counseling and welfare centers currently handle administrative and counseling duties at the same time, but from next year 12 dedicated staff will be assigned to the central center to minimize wait times.
The ministry will also strengthen counseling management by type of crisis, including suicide and self-harm as well as isolation and social withdrawal. Youth self-reliance support centers will increase to 14 from 13, and recovery support facilities to 20 from 18. The number of recipients of the youth self-reliance allowance, paid at 500,000 won a month, will increase by 50.
The ministry will also build capacity to respond to evolving digital sex crimes. It will spend 1 billion won to introduce an artificial intelligence-based in-depth analysis system to respond preemptively to sites distributing illegally filmed material. It has newly allocated 150 million won for research analyzing the causes of deaths from intimate partner violence. Legal support for violence victims will rise to 2.5 million won per case from 1.5 million won.
A public sanitary pad program piloted this year will expand nationwide from next year. The number of ministries with a gender equality policy officer will increase to 24 from nine, and regional public forums aimed at narrowing gender perception gaps among young adults will operate in three areas: the central region, the Honam region and the Gyeongsang region.
"We plan to seamlessly pursue policies that the public can feel and relate to, including expanding support for diverse families and supporting child care and rearing as well as the protection and healthy growth of young people," Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung said.
