Gyeonggi Province Expands Child Support Benefits for Single-Parent Families Starting March - First in Nation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] Starting next month, Gyeonggi Province will expand the eligibility criteria for child support benefits for single-parent families from 63% to 100% of median income—the first province in the nation to do so. Newly eligible beneficiaries will receive 100,000 won per month to alleviate the financial burden of childcare for single-parent households.

The province announced on the 22nd that it will implement the expanded single-parent family child support project together with eight cities and counties—Hwaseong, Siheung, Icheon, Yeoju, Gwangmyeong, Anseong, Guri, and Gapyeong—that have decided to participate in the initiative this year.

In the first phase, Hwaseong, Siheung, Icheon, and Yeoju will begin accepting applications for child support benefits starting March 4, while the remaining cities of Gwangmyeong, Anseong, Guri, and Gapyeong will accept applications from the second half of the year onward.

The specific application schedules for cities and counties in the second half will be posted on the Gyeonggi Province website and municipal websites at a later date. The province is currently in discussions with the remaining 23 cities and counties to join the program, with expectations that additional participating cities and counties will increase from the second half of the year at the earliest.

Previously, the single-parent family child support project provided monthly child support of 210,000 won until a child reaches age 18 for single-parent families with income at or below 63% of median income, or 350,000 won per month for teenage single-parent families with parents aged 24 or younger and income at or below 65% of median income. Last year, 52,906 residents in the province received child support benefits.

Gyeonggi Province's expanded child support project raises the income eligibility threshold to 100% of median income (2024 standard: 3.68 million won monthly for two-person households, 4.71 million won for three-person households), allowing single-parent families exceeding the government's standard income criteria to benefit. Grandparent-headed families and teenage single-parent families are also eligible.

Accordingly, those at or below 63% of median income will receive 210,000 won monthly (or 350,000 won for teenage single-parent families at or below 65%), while newly eligible beneficiaries exceeding 63% (or 65% for teenage single-parent families) up to 100% of median income will receive 100,000 won per child monthly until the child reaches age 18. The province will fund these additional benefits at a 30:70 ratio of provincial to municipal budgets.

Applicants can apply through the administrative welfare center in their residential area or via the Welfare Comprehensive Support website (http://www.bokjiro.go.kr). For online applications, applicants should search for "Single-Parent Family Child Support Benefits" under welfare services and submit their application, similar to central government programs.

Meanwhile, single-parent families in Gyeonggi Province numbered 382,892 households as of 2022, accounting for 25.6% of the nationwide total of 1,494,067 households.