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4. Social Security, Childcare Service, and Standard of Living
Issue 44. Social Security
1) Current status
159. According to the National Basic Livelihood Security Program, only those who do not
have obligator for family support or whose obligator for family support is incapable to support
the family are considered as welfare recipients. However, it is harder for children than the
adults to prove that they are not being supported due to the parents’ absence, unknown
whereabouts, hospitalization, mental disorder, poverty, etc.
160. There have been attempts during the 18th and 19th National Assembly to pass the
legislation of the ���advanced payment of child support system” to make government to
provide child support to the child support creditor (custodial parent) in advance and exercise
the right to indemnity against the child support debtor (non-custodial parent). However, the
government has enacted the Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support in 2014, which
mainly rely on Child Support Agency went into effect in 2015. As a result, an institutional
basis was prepared to provide temporary emergency aid for child support, so caretakers can
receive an emergency support fee of KRW 200,000 per month up to nine months.
161. The 2015 Single Parent Family Survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family
showed that 94.1% of 2,043 single parents have never used the Child Support Enforcement
Program, and among the users, 48.6% of them answered that the program was not helpful in
terms of receiving child support. 83.9% of single parents have never received child support
for over a year, 6.2% of them had child support credit. The single parents also said that it is
necessary to expand the Temporary Emergency Aid for Child Support (53.1%), impose
stronger sanctioning measures against child support debtors for non-payment of child
support (23.4%), and strengthen the monitoring support to confirm child support payment
status on a regular basis (23.0%).
2) Questions
162. Are there easy ways for children to apply for public support from the government to
help themselves in need?
163. Are there any practical methods that the single parents could refer to when requesting
for child care? What are the government’s action plans in introducing the advanced payment
of child support system?