Support of 200,000 KRW Monthly Rent for Youth with Monthly Income Below 1.2 Million KRW

Ruling Party, Government, and Blue House Agree on Special Youth Support Measures
Monthly Support of 200,000 KRW for Homeless Youth Up to One Year
Ruling Party: "Urgent to Ease Youth Housing Cost Burden"
Increase National Scholarships to Realize Half-Price Tuition Fees

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The government and the ruling party have decided to support young people with a monthly rent subsidy of 200,000 KRW for up to one year. The target group is estimated to be 150,000 to 160,000 young people who are ‘homeless youth with a median income of 60% or less’ and have a monthly income of 1.2 million KRW or less. The national scholarship will also be significantly increased to realize ‘half-price tuition’ for low-income and middle-class households.

On the 26th, the ruling party, government, and Blue House held a council meeting at the National Assembly and agreed to promote a ‘Special Youth Measures’ plan based on these contents. The focus was on actively easing the burden to reduce disparities within the youth generation. More than 20 trillion KRW of next year’s budget will be invested in youth support.

Lee Dong-hak, the Supreme Youth Committee member of the Democratic Party, said to reporters right after the council meeting, "There were many opinions that direct (cash) support is needed rather than loans," adding, "As a key task related to ‘fair start’ by resolving disparities within the generation, we focused on discussing monthly rent support for vulnerable youth and increasing the unit amount of national scholarships." Since there could be controversy over unfairness if the individual has no income but the parents have substantial assets, the parents’ income level will also be reflected in selecting the beneficiaries. Specific criteria will be announced in the government briefing on comprehensive youth measures later that afternoon.

The national scholarship will also be significantly increased. Yoo Eun-hye, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, said in her opening remarks, "Last year, low-income and middle-class households only received 340,000 to 600,000 KRW per semester in national scholarships, which was practically unhelpful," adding, "We will increase national scholarships through this measure to create a practical half-price tuition." Deputy Prime Minister Yoo also stated, "To expand youth employment, we will establish youth employment incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-sized companies, and introduce Youth Hope Savings and Youth Tomorrow Savings Accounts," and added, "We will also create research institutions where youth can participate."

Additionally, the ruling party, government, and Blue House plan to discuss special supply measures targeting single-person households, childless newlyweds, dual-income couples, and first-time homebuyers, as well as special supply measures for youth. Yoon Ho-jung, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "We will maintain the quality of university education by expanding national scholarships and reduce the tuition burden on university students so that the middle class can benefit from the policy effects." Park Wan-joo, chairman of the Democratic Party Policy Committee, said, "We are determined to work harder amid the crisis that if we do not restore ‘normalcy’ to youth hurt by COVID-19 and design fairness, our society could lose a generation."

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