237 face punishments including overseas travel and driving ban

A stock photo of a baby (123rf)
A stock photo of a baby (123rf)

The South Korean government said Sunday it has finalized 283 administrative sanctions against 237 individuals who failed to pay their portion of child-rearing expenses.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 134 were slapped with an overseas travel ban, 81 had their driver's license revoked, and 68 had their names and information posted by authorities. The individuals were found to owe an average of 46 million won ($31,200) per person, with one person accused of owing 344.3 million won.

The latest decision was made during the 48th meeting of the deliberation committee for child-rearing payment under the Gender Equality Ministry, marking its eighth such meeting this year. A total of 1,389 administrative sanctions were imposed this year, up 46.7 percent compared to last year.

The increase is widely attributed to recent changes in the administrative process for sanctions on parents who fail to pay child support. Previously, offenders were detained by authorities before sanctions were imposed.

The new policy implemented in September 2024, however, skips the detention phase and moves directly from state order to sanctions.

South Korea has implemented multiple policies to support parents who are denied child-support from their children's non-custodial parents. In one such policy, the state covers defaulted child support payments and seizes the amount due from the non-custodial parent who failed to pay.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com