SEOUL, June 20 (AJU PRESS) - Those who neglect paying child allowance now face more inconvenience and restrictions, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday. The ministry has decided to publicly unveil the names of these delinquents, suspend their drivers' licenses, and impose travel bans.
In Korea, divorced couples, either the mother or father without custody, are responsible for financially supporting their former spouse until their child turns 18. The amount varies depending on their income levels, but a housewife without income, for example, is liable to pay at least 600,000 won ($433) per month.
However, even with a court order, tracking them down has been technically impossible so far. To address this issue, the ministry came up with these stringent measures for those who refuse to pay even after receiving a detention order from a court.
Under the new measures, the ministry nabbed about 164 delinquents. Among them, 117 were banned from traveling overseas, 43 had their driver's licenses suspended, and four had their names revealed publicly.
The ministry plans to streamline relevant regulations by September this year to apply these measures more easily. Once implemented, the ministry will be able to impose such punitive measures on those who neglect child allowance payments even without a court-issued detention order.
"From September this year, with simplified procedures, legal enforcement will become easier," said Vice Minister Shin Young-sook.
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