[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Starting in October, newlywed couples will be able to qualify for Bogeumjari loans by meeting either of two income thresholds: a combined annual income of 85 million won ($60,100) or less, or an annual income of 70 million won or less for just one spouse. The change is designed to eliminate what critics have called a "marriage penalty" — a quirk in the policy loan system that made borrowing harder, not easier, after getting married.

The Financial Services Commission announced the reform Thursday as part of a broader package of measures aimed at stabilizing the real estate market. Under the new rules, the Bogeumjari loan income requirement for newlyweds will be assessed using either the combined household income or the income of one spouse alone. Couples who registered their marriage within the past seven years are eligible. The FSC plans to implement the change in October after revising internal regulations and completing system upgrades.

The Bogeumjari loan is a long-term fixed-rate mortgage available for homes priced at 600 million won or less, with a maximum loan-to-value ratio of 70 percent for apartments and 65 percent for other housing types. The current interest rate ranges from 4.90 to 5.20 percent per year.

The key change is not a higher income ceiling but a shift to a choice-based assessment system. Going forward, newlyweds need only satisfy one of two conditions: a combined annual household income of 85 million won or less, or an annual income of 70 million won or less for one spouse. In effect, the policy extends to married couples the same individual income standard that applied to them before marriage.

Under the current rules, the income ceiling is 70 million won — based on combined household income for couples and individual income for single applicants — with newlyweds within seven years of marriage allowed up to 85 million won on a combined basis. Critics have long noted that the gap between the single-person and two-person thresholds is only 15 million won, meaning a household that doubles in size sees its recognized income ceiling rise by just 21 percent.

The existing structure effectively penalized marriage: a loan available to each partner individually could become inaccessible once they married and their incomes were combined. Complaints repeatedly arose over cases like two people each earning 45 million won — both individually within the limit — who found themselves disqualified after marriage because their combined income of 90 million won exceeded the threshold. In practice, some couples delayed registering their marriage until after securing the loan.

President Lee Jae Myung had flagged the issue on Aug. 8, posting on social media platform X a list of 22 "marriage penalties" identified through feedback from young people. The post included calls to ease income requirements for the Didimdol, Buitimok and Bogeumjari loan programs. The latest reform is a follow-up to that post.

A potential gap in the policy remains, however: high-income couples where one partner earns significantly more than the other could also qualify, since there is no cap on the other spouse's income. As long as one partner earns 70 million won or less, the couple passes the income test — even if the other earns 100 million won or more. An FSC official explained the mechanics: "If one spouse earns 100 million won and the other earns 50 million won, they would have been ineligible under the old rules because their combined income exceeds 85 million won. But under the revised rules, because one spouse earns 70 million won or less, they will be able to receive the Bogeumjari loan."


won@heraldcorp.com