Single-parent families suffer financial difficulties

First lady Kim Jung-sook waves hand at audience during the event celebrating establishment of single parent family day at Ferrum Tower in Jongno, central Seoul in this May 2018 photo. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday financial hardhip is the top concern for single-parent familes. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon

By Kim Jae-heun

Financial hardship is the top concern for single-parent families, as 80 percent of them say they have difficulty covering child rearing expenses and education costs, according to a survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Thursday.

The ministry surveyed 2,500 single parents across the country last year. Most of them became single parents after divorce, and were raising 1.5 children on average. Some 51 percent of the families were comprised of a mother and children, while 21.1 percent were a father and children, and others had children in the care of additional family members such as grandparents.

According to the survey, the monthly income of a single-parent family was an average of 2.19 million won ($1,925). This has increased by 300,000 won over the last four years, but it still accounted for only 56.6 percent of households' average monthly income.

Over 84 percent of the single parents were employed, but their incomes were relatively low and many of them worked long hours ― nearly half of the single parents worked over 10 hours a day and only 36.1 percent were on five-day workweeks, while 16.2 percent worked without fixed days off.

This causes difficulties taking care of household affairs and raising children, so an increased number of elementary schoolchildren from single-parent families are in afterschool childcare programs, with the ratio of children attending rising from 30.3 percent in 2012 to 47 percent in 2015 and 53.9 percent last year.

Despite these financial difficulties, 78.8 percent of the single parents were not receiving child support from their former partners.

The lack of financial assistance was mainly because the former partners were not legally required to provide support in 75.4 percent of the cases, as agreed or left undecided by the couples when they broke up.

Among the families where the former partners had the legal duty to pay, 61.1 percent were receiving child support money regularly, up from 55.2 percent in 2015.

But among the remaining 38.9 percent who were not paid despite their legal rights, less than 10 percent have sought legal aid to force their former partners to provide the required child support.

The ministry has been discussing the matter with other related government bodies to better force former partners to pay child support when obligated. Relevant bills on child-support compliance are pending currently at the National Assembly.

Financial aid for single parents in low-income brackets has been expanded by the ministry from 130,000 won to 200,000 won per month starting this year.

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