South Korean President Orders Full Enrollment for Youth Savings Program

President Lee Jae-myung has ordered the government to secure additional funding to guarantee that all eligible young people can enroll in the "Youth Future Savings" program. This initiative offers a substantial effective annual interest rate of up to 19.4% for a three-year savings period.

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Let's ensure that everyone who applies within the two-week period and meets the criteria can be accommodated, even if it requires allocating additional funds.

The government's initial plan was to prioritize applicants with lower incomes if the number of eligible participants exceeded the allocated budget. However, President Lee's directive on May 23, during a joint State Council and Emergency Economic Inspection meeting, mandates that all individuals meeting the program's criteria should be accommodated. "Let's ensure that everyone who applies within the two-week period and meets the criteria can be accommodated, even if it requires allocating additional funds," the president stated.

President Lee expressed concern that applicants who met the requirements but were denied due to budget limitations would face significant disappointment. "I understand there might be budget constraints, but how unfair would it be for those who are rejected?" he asked, emphasizing the need to include all qualified youth.

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I understand there might be budget constraints, but how unfair would it be for those who are rejected?

The Financial Services Commission estimates that 5.5 million young people are eligible for the program, for which 3.2 million slots were initially budgeted. Park Hong-geun, head of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, assured that the budget was planned with the 3.2 million figure in mind and that they would explore options for utilizing existing funds if the number of applicants exceeded this. The "Youth Future Savings" program allows individuals aged 19 to 34 to deposit up to 500,000 won monthly for three years. It offers a base interest rate of 5%, with additional preferential rates from banks ranging from 2-3%. Combined with government contributions and tax benefits, the perceived return is between 13.2% and 14.4% for the standard plan, and 18.2% to 19.4% for the preferential plan.

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We planned the budget assuming 3.2 million participants would be sufficient. If it exceeds this, we will look into utilizing existing funds.

Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial Services Commission, reported that 196,000 young people had applied on the first day alone, describing the uptake as "considerably high."

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Yesterday alone, 196,000 young people applied. The uptake is considerably high.