[123rf]
[123rf]

A, a single parent raising three children, was forced to pull her kids out of hagwon classes and halt their medical treatment after her former spouse stopped paying child support for nine months. When the government stepped in with an advance payment of 600,000 won ($386) a month, the children were able to resume their normal lives.

A program that does exactly what helped A — paying child support upfront to single-parent households that are not receiving it, then seeking reimbursement from the non-custodial parent — has now supported more than 10,000 minor children in its first year of operation.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Saturday that the advance child support payment program, introduced last July, had disbursed a total of 16.73 billion won to 10,917 minor children across 6,923 households through May.

Under the program, when a non-custodial parent who is legally obligated to pay child support fails to do so, the government pays first and then exercises its right of reimbursement against the debtor.

To reduce gaps in coverage during the program's early phase, the ministry eased eligibility requirements. Previously, applicants had to have received no child support payments at all in the three months before applying. The criteria were revised to also allow applications when the average monthly child support received over the preceding three months fell below the advance payment amount.

The Child Support Enforcement Agency began recovery proceedings in January for 7.73 billion won in advance payments disbursed in the second half of last year.

Recovery follows compulsory collection procedures under the National Tax Collection Act. The agency first notifies debtors and issues payment demands to encourage voluntary compliance; if a debtor does not respond, the agency proceeds with forced collection after obtaining approval from the minister of gender equality and family.

By the end of May, the agency had recovered 640 million won. It plans to hire eight additional recovery staff and strengthen cooperation with related agencies — including the National Tax Service and the Seoul Metropolitan Government — to pursue the remaining balance.

Starting in October, the government plans to eliminate the income threshold for the program, broadening support for single-parent families struggling to raise children without receiving child support.

Under current law, eligibility is limited to households with income at or below 150 percent of the median income standard, meaning single parents above that threshold cannot access the program even when they are not receiving child support.

"Over the past year, the advance child support payment program has established itself as a reliable safety net supporting the financial stability of single-parent families affected by child support gaps and the healthy development of their children," Minister Won Min-kyung said. "Through cooperation with relevant agencies, we will also ensure more rigorous enforcement of child support obligations against debtors."


kido@heraldcorp.com