Pursuing Property Investigation Without Child Support Debtor's Consent... Also Detecting Falsified Residence Registration

Legislation Proposed for Income and Asset Inquiry Without Debtor Consent
Child Support Contempt Order Application Requirement Shortened to 30 Days
Strengthened Investigation of Debtor's Fictitious Residence and Contempt Enforcement Support
From July, Public Disclosure and Travel Ban for Debtors Failing Contempt Orders
Temporary Expansion of Emergency Child Support Assistance Recipients

Key Contents of Child Support Enforcement Improvement Plan (Data provided by Ministry of Gender Equality and Family)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] To prevent debtors who do not pay child support from hiding their assets, the government is pushing for a legal amendment that allows income and asset inquiries without the debtor's consent. Investigations into false address registrations will also be conducted to prevent debtors from reporting fake addresses.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the "Improvement Plan for Support of Child Support Payment for Single-Parent Families with Minor Children" jointly with related ministries at the 11th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office.

The government plans to amend the "Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payment" to enable income and asset inquiries through the administrative information network to prevent asset concealment such as real estate title transfers, bank withdrawals, and disposal of small assets by child support debtors.

If confirmed child support debts are not fulfilled, income and assets can be inquired without the debtor's consent and immediately seized. Under current law, income and asset inquiries require the debtor's consent, but the consent rate is only 4.5%, and even using the court's asset inquiry system takes six months, limiting the ability to prevent asset disposal.

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "We plan to allow inquiries into the scope of assets including national taxes such as income tax and value-added tax, and local taxes such as acquisition tax, property tax, and automobile tax. We will also enable inquiries into real estate-related asset information under health insurance and monthly income." She added, "A bill has been proposed in the National Assembly to allow asset inquiries when the claim is confirmed even if the debtor does not consent, and we will work to ensure its prompt passage."

The litigation period for detention orders against child support debt defaulters will be shortened from 90 days to within 30 days. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will work with the Ministry of Justice to amend the Family Litigation Act and conduct investigations into false address registrations led by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to identify debtors who falsely report addresses to avoid detention enforcement.

Kim Kwon-young, Director of Family Policy at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, explained, "When a false address registration is received, after fact-finding investigations, if the debtor fails to prove the address, they will be reported to the police. After the report, the case will be forwarded to the prosecution, and penalties such as imprisonment for up to three years or fines up to 30 million won will be imposed."

Additionally, a field support team composed of staff from the Child Support Enforcement Agency will be dispatched to the debtor's address to support active detention enforcement by police officers. Last year, there were only 25 detention enforcement cases, and only 10 cases up to March this year.

Travel Ban on Child Support Debtors, Exemptions from Public Disclosure List

Starting in July, if a debtor fails to comply with a detention order, their name will be publicly disclosed on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family website after review and resolution by the Child Support Enforcement Committee, or a request will be made to the Ministry of Justice for travel bans and to the National Police Agency for driver's license suspension. Travel ban targets are those with debts of 50 million won or more, or those with debts of 30 million won or more who have traveled abroad three or more times within a year or stayed abroad for six months or longer.

Furthermore, from July, criminal penalties including imprisonment of up to one year or fines up to 10 million won will be imposed on those who fail to fulfill child support debts within one year after receiving a detention order.

To alleviate the child-rearing burden on single parents facing economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the income criteria for "Temporary Emergency Child Support" will be raised to expand the support target. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been providing 200,000 won per child per month for up to 12 months in advance, with the government pursuing reimbursement from debtors through lawsuits in cases of unemployment, business suspension or closure, or illness.

The method of recovering temporary emergency child support through lawsuits against debtors will be improved to collection by seizure. From November, a system allowing seizure of deposits, automobiles, and real estate will also be operated. Additionally, single-parent families who are basic livelihood security recipients will receive additional child support. The payment criteria for youth single parents will also be expanded from the previous age limit of 24 to 34 years old.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will also streamline the services of the Child Support Enforcement Agency to increase child support payment rates. Electronic litigation will be expanded up to child support collection and enforcement order lawsuits. Information on the progress of child support lawsuits, payment status, and additional lawsuit-related information will be provided to child support creditors regularly. Dedicated child support accounts will be established and actively used for collection and sanctions.

From next year, interview visitation services will be expanded and supported at 16 Healthy Family Support Centers and Multicultural Family Support Centers. The government is considering establishing legal grounds to compile statistics on child support visitation enforcement orders held by courts and share them with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Jeong Young-ae, Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "We will strengthen the responsibility of non-custodial parents who do not fulfill child support obligations and create an environment where single-parent families can raise their children stably by improving the system, such as shortening litigation periods and simplifying procedures, to increase child support payment rates."

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