New law targeting delinquent parents comes into force

A notice announcing the implementation of a new law targeting delinquent parents is posted on the wall of the Child Support Agency’s office in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

A new law targeting delinquent parents took effect Tuesday, as the government pledged to pursue child support evaders directly on behalf of those affected.

The new law marks a significant shift in the government’s approach to a long-standing social issue. By stepping in to provide immediate financial support, the state aims to shield vulnerable children from the economic fallout of parental neglect. The measure not only strengthens the safety net for single-parent families, but also grants the Child Support Agency expanded authority to pursue delinquent parents — signaling a more assertive stance on enforcement and accountability.

Under the revised Act on Enforcing and Supporting Child Support Payment, the state-run Child Support Agency will provide 200,000 won ($150) each month per child to parents who have not received legally mandated support from former partners, and will later seek to recover the overdue payments from the delinquent parent.

Legal guardians of minor children become eligible for state support if they have gone without child support payments for three months or more. However, they must provide evidence that they have made efforts to collect the payments — either through legal action or by seeking government assistance.

Individuals with incomes at or above 151 percent of the median are excluded from eligibility.

To strengthen enforcement, the law grants the Child Support Agency, which operates under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, access to the personal financial information of delinquent parents without their consent. The ministry said it is developing a new system that will allow officials to comprehensively review such data, including bank account balances, with the project expected to be completed by year’s end.

“One of the important policy goals is to send a message that the government will no longer respond to such parents passively and that it will be involved directly in addressing such issues,” an agency official told The Korea Times.

According to government data, the child support compliance rate — measuring how often legally mandated payments are made — stood at 38.3 percent in 2021 and rose to 44.7 percent in 2023. That means more than half of parents legally required to pay child support still fail to meet their obligations.

Many children’s rights advocates have welcomed the new policy.

“Nonpayment is a form of economic abuse that could have a serious, long-lasting impact on children’s well-being and security, given that they are the ones that would need it,” said one advocate, adding that it is a legal right of those children, not a payment to the other parent.

She called the policy a meaningful step toward strengthening the protection of such children and offered a suggestion to policymakers.

“I’d like to point out that the current policy or relevant laws do not specifically say how such money should be used. I think the purpose of that money should be detailed in the future to actually improve the well-being of such children,” she added.