The government decided to increase next year's youth policy budget to 4.33 trillion won, up 53.5% from this year. It plans to restore a "ladder of growth" for young people by bundling stage-by-stage support across life, from employment and startups to housing and asset building, marriage, and childbirth.
On the 28th, the Financial Services Commission held "Youth Budget Unboxing 2027" at the Blue House, presided over by the president, and announced the interagency "Comprehensive investment strategy by youth growth stage." The move is meant to address structural problems in which industrial shifts delay young people's entry into their first jobs and increase the burden of asset building. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), as of July, the number of people in their 20s and 30s who were "resting" reached 651,000, up 240,000 from 10 years ago. The asset gap between older adults and young people also widened to 3.9 times in 2024 from 2.4 times in 2012.
The government defined youth policy as an "investment in the potential of young people," and laid out three pillars: restoring upward mobility through job and startup support; easing starting-line disparities through education, housing, and asset support; and enhancing quality of life through living and culture support. The government said that if support is received from birth through childrearing, education, job seeking, asset accumulation, housing, and marriage, one could receive benefits of up to 140.57 million won by age 18 and up to 195.82 million won by age 34.
In employment, it will run the K-New Deal Academy for 50,000 people and the First Career Project for college students for 60,000 people, and provide hiring incentives of about 7.2 million won per year for small and midsize companies that hire young people. It will also pursue a "Career Bank" to integrate and recognize freelancers' experience and qualifications. For startup founders, it will provide full-cycle support from education to investment attraction, and cover 60% to 80% of monthly insurance premiums for early-stage founders.
In housing, more than half of the new universal public rental units will be supplied to young people, and a new universal Jeonse rental program for youth will be introduced. Support will also be expanded for youth monthly rent and Jeonse deposit return guarantee fees. Marriage support funds will provide 1 million won once per lifetime, and the child welcome grant and basic child allowance are set to begin in Jul. next year. The government will establish a future response fund, financed mainly by additional tax revenue, and will also announce a mid- to long-term national development strategy within the year.