Seoul City 'Hope Double Youth Account' Competition Rate 5.7 to 1... Number of Applicants Doubled Compared to Last Year

Income and Asset Investigation, Duplicate Checks Completed; Final Selected Candidates Posted on District Websites on October 14

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 6th that the application for the ‘2022 Hope Double Youth Account’ closed with a final competition rate of 5.7 to 1, as 41,007 people applied for 7,000 spots. This is higher than last year’s competition rate of 2.4 to 1 and the average competition rate of 3.8 to 1 over the past seven years, which is interpreted as a result of significantly easing the support obligation criteria from 80% of the median income to an annual income below 100 million KRW and assets below 900 million KRW this year.

Seoul City will confirm new beneficiaries on October 14 after income and asset verification and document screening for applicant households. The finally selected Youth Account subscribers can start saving from November. Applicants are selected based on a screening criteria table that reflects their income and asset levels, employment period, residence period, and the economic situation of their support obligors.

Participants who consistently save 100,000 KRW or 150,000 KRW monthly from earned income for two or three years will receive double their savings plus interest upon maturity. Through the Seoul Welfare Foundation, participants can also join various capacity-building programs such as financial education, one-on-one financial consulting, and community support to help their successful independence.

The ‘Hope Double Youth Account’ is a youth support policy rooted in the ‘Seoul Hope Plus Account,’ which Mayor Oh Se-hoon first launched nationwide in 2009. It was included in the 8th mayoral term’s campaign pledge of ‘Walking Together with the Vulnerable,’ promising continuous support for youth facing an uncertain future.

Gu Jong-won, Director of Welfare Planning at Seoul City, said, “The Youth Account helps participants build a foundation for independence through the process of accumulating seed money,” adding, “Seoul City will continue to strive to make this account program a reliable policy that walks alongside youth who find it difficult to plan their future, and help more young people overcome current hardships and dream bigger with the Youth Account.”

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