Lowering the Departure Ban Threshold to 20 Million Won for Child Support Debt Defaulters

Review of Lowering Debt Amount Criteria and Departure Frequency for Exit Bans
Ministry of Justice to Announce Legislative Notice Next Month After Consultation
Discussion Ongoing on Shortening Application Period for Detention Orders

It will become more difficult for those who fail to pay child support debts to leave the country. The government is discussing lowering the debt threshold for requesting a travel ban from the current 50 million won to 20 million won.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) on the 25th, MOGEF plans to announce for public comment next month the enforcement decree of the Act on Securing and Supporting Child Support Payment, which includes lowering the debt amount criteria for requesting a travel ban, after consultations with the Ministry of Justice and others.

A MOGEF official said, "We are reviewing measures to strengthen related sanctions, including lowering the debt amount threshold for requesting a travel ban to a maximum of 20 million won. The Ministry of Justice has expressed opinions that the amount should be adjusted to ensure fairness with similar cases, so the amount criteria may change, but we will announce it for public comment as soon as consultations are completed."

The current criteria for travel ban targets are those whose debt amount is 50 million won or more after a court detention order is issued but the debt remains unpaid, or those with a debt amount of 30 million won or more who have left the country three or more times in the past year. MOGEF also plans to discuss lowering the travel frequency criteria.

In October last year, MOGEF issued the first travel ban decisions against two debtors. Both debtors had debts exceeding 100 million won each and failed to pay child support even after receiving a court detention order on July 13 of that year.

Since the amendment of the Child Support Enforcement Act took effect in July last year, debtors who fail to pay child support after a court detention order are listed on the MOGEF website following a resolution by the Child Support Enforcement Deliberation Committee and are subject to sanctions such as driver's license suspension and travel bans. MOGEF first disclosed the names of two debtors on December 19 last year, but neither has fully resolved their debts. MOGEF plans to disclose additional names next month.

MOGEF is also promoting a plan to shorten the period during which a detention order can be requested for child support debtors from 90 days to 30 days. A detention order is a measure where the court can detain a debtor who willfully fails to fulfill their obligations, holding them in custody until the obligation is fulfilled, for up to 30 days. Currently, the execution rate of detention orders is about 10%, and there have been calls for improvement.

A MOGEF official said, "We are exploring various measures to enhance the effectiveness of child support enforcement," adding, "We are also considering ways to shorten the litigation process until a detention order is issued, as the current process takes too long."

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