Unmarried Foreigners Also Eligible for Single-Parent Family Support

Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Single-Parent Family Support Act Passed at Cabinet Meeting
Foreign Single Parents Raising Children with Korean Nationality Also Included in Support 대상

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Single-parent family support will be extended to cases where foreigners, whether married or not, are raising children with Korean nationality.

On the 6th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Single-Parent Family Support Act, which stipulates procedures such as establishing and managing annual implementation plans for single-parent family support, has passed the Cabinet meeting.

To support single parents in multicultural families, related provisions were revised so that foreigners are eligible for support regardless of their marital status. Previously, foreign single parents who were not married to Koreans were not eligible for support.

This amendment to the Enforcement Decree is a follow-up measure to the Single-Parent Family Support Act revised last October, expanding support for multicultural single parents, establishing grounds for child-rearing expenses support for single parents receiving livelihood benefits, and requiring the establishment of a basic plan. Until now, single-parent family policies were included as part of the Basic Plan for Healthy Families, but with this amendment, single-parent family policies can be established under a unified plan.

According to the amendment, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family must establish an implementation plan to stabilize the lives and improve the welfare of single-parent families. The results of the implementation and evaluations must be reported to heads of central administrative agencies and provincial governors, and provincial governors must establish annual implementation plans containing the status of activities promoting economic, social, and cultural aspects of single-parent families.

Starting from May, under the Single-Parent Family Support Act effective from the 21st, single parents receiving livelihood benefits will be paid a monthly child-rearing allowance of 100,000 KRW. Additional child-rearing allowances will also be provided to young single parents aged 25 to 34. For young single parents, the allowance is 100,000 KRW per month for children under 5 years old and 50,000 KRW per month for children aged 6 to 17.

Minister Jeong Young-ae of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said, "With the amendment to the Enforcement Decree, we can expand support for foreign single parents, and a foundation has been established to formulate and faithfully implement basic and annual implementation plans for single-parent family support." She added, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will actively respond to policy demands related to single-parent families through close cooperation with central administrative agencies and local governments, striving to ensure that single-parent families can enjoy a stable life without discrimination."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.