It was confirmed on the 24th that prime minister nominee Han Seong-sook said she would consider expanding eligibility for the youth monthly rent subsidy from those earning up to 60% of the median income (1.54 million won for a single-person household) to up to 100% (2.56 million won). The youth monthly rent subsidy is a program in which the government provides 200,000 won per month for 24 months to young people with low incomes who face a heavy rent burden.
According to a compilation of ChosunBiz reporting, Han said in a written response submitted to the office of Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Han-kyu ahead of her National Assembly confirmation hearing, "If appointed prime minister, I will actively work to stabilize young people's housing, including by expanding the eligibility for the youth monthly rent subsidy program."
The program was originally a temporary one that would accept applications only from 2022 to 2025 and then be abolished, but starting this year it was converted into a standing program. However, it has drawn criticism that young people have felt little impact from the policy because of income requirements close to those for the low-income bracket. Currently, eligibility requires the original household income, including parents, to be at or below 100% of the median income (5.36 million won for a three-person household), and the youth household income, including the youth themself, to be at or below 60% of the median income.
Here, Han is saying she will raise the youth household income threshold to at or below 100% of the median income so more young people can receive support. If the requirements are eased and eligibility is broadened, the program budget is expected to grow more than in the past. The budget was 82.1 billion won in 2022, 44.2 billion won in 2023, 79.4 billion won in 2024, 134.9 billion won in 2025, and 130.0 billion won this year.
Earlier, the competent ministry, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, also began preliminary work to expand eligibility. At the end of last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) commissioned a research project to estimate how much the number of beneficiaries and the budget size would increase over the next five years if the income thresholds for youth households and original households were each raised by 10 percentage points (p).
An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "We believe the prime minister's office has expressed a stronger will regarding internal review matters," and explained, "We are going through the budget consultation process with the direction of expanding the beneficiary pool."