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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

South Korea sanctions 166 parents for unpaid child support

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

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  • South Korea has imposed sanctions on 166 parents who failed to pay child support, including driver's license suspension and overseas travel bans.
  • These measures were decided upon by the 51st Child Support Enforcement Deliberation Committee, resulting in 184 enforcement actions.
  • The number of enforcement cases has steadily increased since the system's inception in 2021, with a significant rise in the first half of 2024.

South Korea is taking firm action against parents who neglect their child support obligations. A total of 166 individuals face sanctions, including driver's license suspension, overseas travel bans, and public disclosure of their names, for failing to pay child support. The decisions were made during the 51st Child Support Enforcement Deliberation Committee meeting held on June 8 and 9.

The committee approved 184 enforcement measures against the non-paying parents. Among the sanctions, 120 cases involved overseas travel bans, 41 involved driver's license suspensions, and 23 involved public disclosure of names. The highest outstanding child support debt among those sanctioned reached approximately 192 million won (about $138,000 USD), with the average debt standing around 45 million won ($32,500 USD).

The burden on single-parent families who must bear the difficulties of raising children alone due to delayed child support payments remains significant.

— Won Kang-min, Minister of Gender Equality and FamilyAcknowledging the challenges faced by single-parent families.

The "Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support" allows for such sanctions against individuals who fail to make payments for over 30 days after a lump-sum payment order, or who have missed payments three or more times, or owe more than 30 million won. Since the system's implementation in July 2021, the number of enforcement cases has shown a consistent year-on-year increase. In the first half of 2024 alone, 720 enforcement cases were decided, a 27.2% rise compared to the same period last year.

Information on newly disclosed names is available on the websites of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Child Support Enforcement Agency. Minister Won Kang-min acknowledged the significant burden on single-parent families due to delayed child support payments and pledged continued efforts to strengthen enforcement policies. The ministry is also researching ways to improve sanctions and penalties for child support non-payment, with potential system improvements to be considered based on the research findings.

We will continue to strive for policies that secure child support, including preparing more effective sanctions and penalties.

— Won Kang-min, Minister of Gender Equality and FamilyPledging continued government efforts in child support enforcement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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