The Threshold for Travel Ban on Child Support Debt Defaulters Lowered from 50 Million to 30 Million Won

Lowering the Debt Threshold for Travel Ban
If Payment Is Overdue for More Than 3 Months After Detention Order
Travel Ban Requests Possible Regardless of Debt Amount
22 People Subject to Travel Ban, 45 People Requested for Driver's License Suspension

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The criteria for requesting a travel ban on those who fail to pay child support will be lowered from the current 50 million won to 30 million won.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it will give public notice of a partial amendment to the "Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Assurance and Support of Child Support Payment" starting from the 17th. The enforcement decree is scheduled to take effect from August after going through regulatory review, legal consultation, and the Cabinet meeting.

Since the implementation of the travel ban request system for child support defaulters in July last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been discussing ways to strengthen debt fulfillment and, after consultations with related ministries, decided to lower the request criteria. Initially, the ministry considered lowering it to 20 million won, but taking into account precedents such as travel ban requests for local tax delinquencies (30 million won or more), the request criteria was set at 30 million won.

Regardless of the debt amount, a travel ban request can also be made if the debtor has not paid child support for more than three months after a detention order decision due to non-fulfillment of debt. This improvement aims to provide practical benefits even to low-income single-parent families with small child support claims.

The income criteria for temporary emergency child support applications will also be lowered. The current income standard is 50% or less of the median income according to the Basic Livelihood Security Act, but it will be relaxed to 75% or less.

Following the 23rd Child Support Enforcement Deliberation Committee held on the 10th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family requested the Ministry of Justice to impose travel bans on 22 child support debtors and to suspend the driver's licenses of 45 debtors. Among those subject to travel bans and driver's license suspensions, the highest debt amount reached 210 million won.

Compared to the results of the second deliberation, the number of travel ban requests has tripled, and requests for driver's license suspension have increased more than fourfold. The Ministry explained, "As public awareness of sanctions against child support defaulters has increased, child support creditors have actively requested travel bans and driver's license suspensions against debtors."

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, "With the amendment to the enforcement decree of the 'Child Support Enforcement Act' that relaxes the requirements for travel ban requests, we expect a significant increase in the responsibility for child support payment and the effectiveness of the system." She added, "We will continue to promote institutional improvements to enhance the effectiveness of child support enforcement, such as shortening the statement period when selecting those subject to public disclosure, and do our best to create a safe child-rearing environment for minor children."

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