A warm society where no one feels alienated 

- The new government's MOGEF reports on its business to the President -

MOGEF to expand its policy service for all families including one-person households, working couples, and families whose household heads are retired middle-aged men

To expand scope of beneficiaries of child support fund for single-parent families (current 52% of median income or lower to 58% or lower), starting in October

To lower the bar for asking for departure prohibition on, and disclose the names of, ill-willed obligors and simplify the relevant procedure

To alleviate parents’ burden through adoption of national qualification system for childcare workers; to help more women work in promising areas

To expand the scope of youths’ digital technology-based activities such as Metaverse, virtual reality, etc.

To come up with an inter-ministry integrated system for supportive information for protection of youths in crisis by 2024

Minor sexual violence victims to make testimonies from Sunflower Center, starting in July

To link the systems for deletion of digital sex crimes-related films run by the central government and local governments

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF/Minister Kim Hyunsook) made a report on its overall business to the President at the Presidential Office in Yongsan-Gu, Seoul on July 20.

The major content of the report is as follows:

1. Plan for strengthening customized policy service for all families

(Family service) MOGEF, along with the 244 family support centers across the country, will strengthen the integrated/customized support for family-related matters including childcare, economic activities, psychological counseling, education for parents/children, etc. In addition to the current services provided for single-parent/multicultural families,

- and will operate community centers for middle-aged retirees and families supporting aged parents and family supportcenters open to all family members for mental counseling and the like for one-person households.

- MOGEF will fully utilize local service networks such as Community Service Centers and 1388 YouthsSupport Corps to identify families in crisis early and provide support in restoring family functions through periodic case management and service linkage, etc.

(Single-parent families) To mitigate low-income/single-parent families’ burden of raising children, we will expand the scope of beneficiaries of the government’s child support fund (from families whose income level stands at 52% of the median income or lower to 58% or lower and then 63% or lower), starting October.

* Standard median income (in the case of 3-person households): ▴ 52% KRW 2,181,000, ▴ 58% KRW 2,433,000 ▴ 63% KRW 2,643,000

- With this, the percentage of single-parent families eligible for childcare expenses will increase from the current 39% to 53%.

- As for those eligible for emergency childcare expenses paid for single-parent families, the scope will be expanded from families whose income level stands at 50% or less of the median income to 75% or less, starting August. 

- With regard to intentional or ill-willed child support obligors,* the bar will be lowered for the prohibition on their departure. The period for inquiry regarding their income/property will be shortened. The procedure for the disclosure of their names will be simplified as well. 

* ▴ Expanding the scope of those subject to departure prohibition (child support obligation amount: 50 million won → 30 million won) (starting Aug. 2022) ▴ Shortening the time taken to inquire about the child support obligor’s income/property (6 months → 7 days) (’23) ▴ Shortening the time taken to disclose the list and listen to the relevant opinions (90 days →10 days) (‘23)

(Young parents) Starting this month, we will run a pilot program for providing child support expense to married couples not more than 24 years old so that they can raise children more stably while attending school and the like.

- KRW 200,000 a month per child paid to a household whose income is 60% or lower of the median income

* MOGEF considers starting the relevant plan in 2023 after said pilot program and status survey of such households in 2022.

(Multicultural families) MOGEF will strengthen customized service for each stage (e.g., initial adaptation, childcare, etc.) of settling down on the part of multicultural families. 

- Starting this year, MOGEF will provide support for basic learning and career consulting to help school-age children from multicultural families adapt to school life in connection with the increase in their number. 

2. To help more women work in promising areas and adopt a national qualification system for childcare workers as part of efforts for work-home life balance

(Jobs for women) MOGEF will come up with ways to train more women fit for future labor markets associated with the digital transformation or the like and operate SaeilCenters more actively for career interrupted women.  

* Development of a course for training professional women who can meet local demands in collaboration with local governments, businesses, research institutions, and universities.

(Work environment) We will strive to increase the number of businesses certified as family-friendly ones (4,918 in 2021) in a bid to foster the culture of work-family life balance, while improving the criteria for family-friendliness certification.

(Childcare) MOGEF will expand the childcare service currently carried out mostly in the public sector to the private sector to ease the burden of working couples 

- MOGEF will adopt the national qualification system for childcare workers commonly applicable for public and private sectors to promote the safe use of private childcare services (2024).

- MOGEF will expand government support for childcare service and establish an integrated platform including an AI-based automatic matching system to enable people to use the service more easily and conveniently.

* Prompt matching with childcare workers, using input information on time slots and areas convenient for users.

3. Establishment of an integrated system by 2024 for promptly spotting youths in crisis for intervention/support and invigoration of their digital technology-based activities

(Digital technology-based activities) We will turn the six national youth centers across the country into Metaverse facilities to help young people engage in digital technology-based activities** 

- aligned with their perspectives amid the changes made through the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the current need for non-face-to-face contact among people.

* Ex. Activities with focus on the theme of global leadership (central government, activities focusing on the theme of Mother Nature (Pyeongchang), rocket principles (aerospace), activities focusing on the theme of agricultural science, marine energy, and hands-on experience of marine occupations, conservation of ecosystem, etc.

- MOGEF will also provide an array of hands-on programs based on digital technology that can attract young people’s attention such as coding, VR, AR, drone, etc.

(Global capability) to strengthen the human network and basis policy-related collaboration and help the country’s young people serve as leaders in the international community, 

- MOGEF will hold the 25th WorldScout Jamboree in Saemangeum in August 2023 with 50,000 people from more than 170 countries attending, 

- and help youth to build their capability for global communication through the expansion of their areas of activities to Europe and the Americas.

(Youths’ safety network) We will establish an information system for integrated support for youths in crisis for inter-ministry collaboration in sharing materials/information on the entire process of spotting youths in crisis and provision of support.

(Mental health) MOGEF will operate mental clinics specializing in the prevention of suicide and self-inflicted injuries and help youths restore their mental health in the era of COVID-19, 

* Operated in 17 local centers for counseling/welfare of youths to prevent suicide or self-inflicted injuries 

- and will establish one more center* for the treatment of youths with problems like hypochondria or ADHD in Honam by 2026.

* At present, there are two of them: one in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do and the other in Dalseong, Daegu

(Support for self-reliance) MOGEF will raise the ceiling amount of living support for youths in crisis starting August 2022 from current KRW 550,000 won a month to KRW 650,000.

(Support for future career) With regard to the system for automatic provision of information on those who dropped out of school to the local youth support center, MOGEF will expand the scope including those who dropped out of high school. 

- MOGEF will also strengthen programs (Naeil Irum School) for the hands-on experience of occupations and professional training for out-of-school youths.

4. Provision of one-stop support for victims of 5 major violences; eradication of power-based sex crimes

(One-stop support) We will strengthen support for victims of five leading types of violence* ranging from their report to reparation for damages incurred including the linking of 1366 calls for women with the Criminal Victim Support Center.

* Power-based sex crimes, digital sex crimes, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking

- With regard to the Constitutional Court’s decision (made in December 2021) on the unconstitutionality of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Protection of Victims Thereof, Article 30(6), which provides admissibility of evidence to statements made by a child victim in a video recording, MOGEF will carry out a program for the video-based examination of a witness linked to the Sunflower Center* to help young victims of sexual violence testify in a more comfortable environment that they are used to. 

* Encouraging young victims to testify through a video-based relay device in one of the youth-friendly Sunflower Centers with the support of those they trust

- In April this year, we engaged in a pilot program. Starting July 21, such program will be expanded to 34 local Sunflower Centers. 

- We will also install facilities for the protection of male victims and improve facilities for the protection of disabled victims of sexual violence.

* Ratio of men using the Sunflower Center  (’20) 11.5% → (’21) 17.2%

* Ratio of men using the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center: 23.3% (4/2018 – 12/2021)

* Ratio of men using the 1366 Center for Women (’20) 6.0% → (’21) 8.1%

(Digital sex crimes) MOGEF will link the system* for deletion of films featuring victims kept by the Digital Sex Crime Victims Support Center, which is operated by MOGEF, with those of similar centers operated by local governments for more efficient operation. 

* As of 2022, such system is being operated in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do. 

** An integrated system that can share feature values (video DNA/distribution URL) of films about victims 

(Stalking) We will strive to have the bill "the Act on the Prevention of Stalking and Protection of Victims" that we submitted to the National Assembly last April passed as soon as possible, while striving to develop support services for stalking victims.

(Sex crimes perpetrated by those in power) In a bid to block any attempt to cover up or reduce the seriousness of sex crime cases perpetrated by those in power, we will shorten* the period for submittal to MOGEF of measures to be taken to prevent the recurrence of a similar case to one month instead of the current three months, in the event of a case involving the head of a government institution.

* Promotion of amendment to the Sexual Violence Prevention Act

- MOGEF intends to address the shortcomings* in the relevant system including making it obligatory for government institutions to take measures for the protection of victims*.

* Protection of victims: Change of their places of work, protective steps like paid holidays, making it obligatory not to treat victims disadvantageously, protection of whistleblowers, prohibition of treating a whistleblower disadvantageously

** Promotion of amendment to the Sexual Violence Prevention Act and the Framework Act on Gender Equality

"MOGEF will continue to push forward with national policy tasks in a way that will invigorate people’s daily lives, including the strengthening of universal family service," Gender Equality and Family Minister Kim Hyunsook said, commenting on the matter.