South Korean government recently enforced administrative punishments for 157 people accused of not paying child support, imposing travel bans, suspending driver's licenses and revealing the names and personal information of individuals online.
In the latest decision made by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on Friday, 157 individuals were subject to 195 penalties. This includes 132 travel bans, 59 suspended driver's licenses and four postings of the violators' names, addresses and owed amounts on the ministry website for the next three years.
The individuals on average owed 58 million won ($40,300) in child support payments, with the largest amount being 319.7 million won.
According to the ministry, since the second half of 2021, a total of 1,279 individuals have been banned from leaving the country due to their failure to make child support payments. The personal information of 102 individuals has been made public in the same period, while 786 have had their driving permits suspended.
The number of penalties handed out due to failure to pay child-rearing costs marked 947 in 2024, up from 639 in 2023, and 359 in 2022. According to the ministry, 44.7 percent of parents ordered by the court to pay the overdue custody payments paid their due amount as of September of 2024, which is up from 38.2 percent of the 2021 figure.
The government is set to introduce in July a system where the government pays 200,000 won a month per child in child-rearing costs to a parent who has not received child support payments. Only those with an income within 150 percent of the state's median income are eligible to apply for these benefits.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
