Seoul City to Provide Monthly Self-Care Allowance of 300,000 Won to Youth Caring for Family Members

Self-Care Allowance for 330 Youth and Young Adults Caring for Family Members
Up to Eight Months of Support... Usable for Health Management and More

On March 12, Seoul City announced that it will provide a self-care allowance of 300,000 won per month to 330 young people and youth caring for family members.

According to the "Ordinance on Youth and Young Adults Caring for Family Members in Seoul Metropolitan City," these individuals are defined as "those aged 9 to 39 who are caring for a family member with a disability, or mental or physical illness." Monitoring conducted with youth and young adults caring for family members who registered their information on the Seoul Welfare Portal revealed that out of 248 respondents, 96.8% were experiencing economic difficulties.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide a monthly self-care allowance of 300,000 KRW for up to 8 months to 330 young people and adolescents who are family caregivers. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The self-care allowance will be provided to approximately 330 youth and young adults caring for family members residing in Seoul whose household income is below 150% of the median income. The allowance will be paid monthly from May to December for eight months, at a rate of 300,000 won per month. If the care recipient is a person with a severe disability or a serious intractable disease, or if there are two or more family members requiring care resulting in a high care burden, the monthly support will be increased to 400,000 won.

The self-care allowance may be used for "self-care" activities such as personal development, health management, counseling or therapy, and cultural activities, as well as to cover costs needed to alleviate the family's care burden. However, participants in the program are required to submit a care record every two months. The care record must detail how the allowance was used and describe any changes to the family care burden during the program period.

Seoul City will accept online applications for the self-care allowance through the Seoul Welfare Portal website from March 16 to March 31. For youth under the age of 14, online applications are not permitted; instead, the applicant must visit the local district office in person with a legal guardian and the necessary documents.

Even if the household income is below 150% of the median, those receiving basic livelihood security or classified as low-income households will have the self-care allowance counted as income. Since this may affect the receipt of existing welfare benefits, these groups are excluded from eligibility. In addition, participants in similar programs, such as the Seoul Youth Allowance or the Hope Double Youth Savings Account, are not eligible for duplicate support.

This year, Seoul City will continue the partnerships established with 11 private organizations in 2025 to provide housing and medical support for youth and young adults caring for family members. The city signed business agreements with seven organizations in 2023 and expanded to 11 organizations in 2025, maintaining support for housing, medical expenses, and living costs. Yoon Jongjang, policy chief of Seoul City’s Welfare Bureau, stated, "We decided to implement the self-care allowance program so that young people who are putting their dreams on hold to care for their families can prepare for their futures," adding, "We will continue to expand support to ensure that youth and young adults caring for family members can grow up stably within the social safety net."

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