South Korea proposes tougher jail sentences for intentional child support evasion

South Korea is intensifying its measures against parents who intentionally evade child support payments, proposing an increase in criminal penalties and implementing stricter sanctions. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced on August 25 that 264 individuals will face various punitive actions, including travel bans and driver's license suspensions, for failing to meet their child support obligations.

Under the current Child Support Enforcement Act, individuals can be sanctioned if they fail to pay lump-sum support ordered by a family court for over 30 days, or if they miss payments three or more times, or if their arrears exceed 30 million won. The recent sanctions include 117 travel bans, 142 driver's license suspensions, and 63 public name disclosures. The highest unpaid amount among the sanctioned individuals reached 280 million won, with an average debt of approximately 45 million won.

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Child support is not merely a financial debt but a fundamental duty that parents must fulfill for the stable life and healthy growth of their minor children.

To further strengthen enforcement, the government plans to revise the law to increase the penalty for intentionally withholding child support. Currently, individuals who fail to comply with a court's contempt order within one year can face up to one year in prison or a fine of 10 million won. The proposed revision shortens this compliance window to six months and increases the potential prison sentence to three years and the fine to 30 million won.

Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Won Kang-hee, emphasized that child support is a fundamental parental duty essential for a child's stable life and healthy growth. The ministry plans to expand access to immigration data for non-payment cases, enhance collaboration with the National Tax Service for information sharing on arrears, and improve the overall system's effectiveness to ensure actual payment of child support.

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We will clarify responsibility for intentional non-payment of child support and continuously supplement the system to ensure its effectiveness, leading to actual child support payments.