The budget plan for next year announced by the government on the 27th includes policies to increase various types of support, such as scholarships and living expenses, for young people, including college students, master’s and doctoral students, and job seekers. Representative examples include expanding the scope of national scholarship support to nine income brackets and providing housing expenses of 200,000 won to low-income college students.
The livelihood allowance for low-income earners will also increase by over 110,000 won per month, and a new lifelong education voucher for seniors aged 65 or older will be created. Small business owners can receive 300,000 won per year in delivery and courier fees. The contents of the support for vulnerable groups included in next year’s budget are summarized in Q&A format.
-Who is eligible to receive the new national scholarship?
“Starting next year, the government will push forward with a plan to expand the scope of national scholarship support from income brackets 8 to 9. If the government’s budget bill passes the National Assembly, students with an income between 200% and 300% of the median income who were previously unable to receive scholarships will now be eligible. For a four-person household, a monthly income of up to 17.19 million won is considered 300% or less. Those in bracket 9 will receive a basic annual scholarship of 1 million won. The scholarship amount will increase to 1.35 million won for the first and second children of a multi-child household, and 2 million won for the third or more children. The national scholarship will provide up to 5.7 million won to students in brackets 1 to 3, 4.2 million won to brackets 4 to 6, and 3.5 million won to brackets 7 to 8, respectively.”
-What are the conditions for receiving the newly established Housing Stability Scholarship?
“If you are a basic livelihood security beneficiary or a near-low-income college student who has to find a new home because you are enrolled in a distant university, you will be able to receive a housing stability scholarship of 200,000 won per month. The criteria for a ‘distant university’ are that it is in a different city or province from your original residence, or if it is in the same region, it takes more than 2 hours to commute one way.
If you meet the requirements, regardless of whether you are a two-year or four-year student, you will receive 200,000 won per month until graduation. However, you can only receive it during the semester, including the summer semester, so support is cut off during vacations. You must provide proof of having found a goshiwon or a monthly rent with a receipt or other means. Current students who are not freshmen but are already attending a distant university can also receive it.”
―I heard that support for master’s and doctoral degrees in science and engineering is increasing.
“Starting next year, full-time master’s and doctoral students in science and engineering who participate in research and development (R&D) will be guaranteed a minimum living allowance during their research period. This is because the ‘Korean Stipend’ scholarship program has been newly established. This is a program that makes up for the shortfall in R&D personnel expenses when they fall below 800,000 won per month for masters and 1.1 million won per month for doctorates. If the combined total of other scholarships, such as BK21, exceeds 800,000 won for masters and 1.1 million won for doctorates, they are not eligible for support. However, they can receive the Presidential Science Scholarship, which is given to researchers with excellent academic performance.
Researchers who are not involved in R&D can apply for the Science and Engineering Masters Scholarship. This is a project that provides 400,000 won per month for up to two years to low-income science and engineering masters students, such as those on basic livelihood security or in the lower-middle class. The total budget for supporting young researchers is 710 billion won.”
-Are there any scholarships that elementary, middle, and high school students can receive?
“There is a Dream Ladder Scholarship. It is a system that provides 150,000 to 450,000 won per month to students who are on basic livelihood security, in the lower middle class, or from single-parent families. Originally, support was provided starting from middle school students, but starting next year, it has been decided to expand to 5th and 6th graders in elementary school. If you are selected as a Dream Ladder Scholarship recipient based on your academic plan, etc., you can receive a scholarship every month until you graduate from college. The amount of support is 150,000 won per month for elementary school students, 250,000 won for middle school students, 350,000 won for high school students, and 450,000 won for college students. You can apply online on the Korea Student Aid Foundation website.”
-What new youth employment and housing policies will be introduced next year?
“Young people who are preparing for or have already found employment in 10 industries where youth employment is not active can receive up to 9.6 million won in subsidies through the ‘3-package to fill vacant jobs.’ These include shipbuilding, root industry, logistics/transportation, health/welfare, food service, agriculture, construction, shipping, fisheries, and resource recycling.
Young people preparing for employment in this industry will receive a training allowance from the National Employment Support System from 284,000 won to 484,000 won per month. They can receive a total of 2,904,000 won for up to 6 months. If they succeed in finding employment and work for a company for a year, they can receive a maximum of 1,900,000 won in employment success allowance, which is 400,000 won more than before.
Regardless of whether or not you participate in the National Employment System, if you work in the relevant job for two years, you will also be given a new leap forward incentive of up to 4.8 million won. However, you must be employed in a small or medium-sized enterprise falling under one of the 10 industries.
A new project will be established to provide specialized support for graduates who have not been able to find jobs, such as job placement and qualification courses. A new Youth Housing Dream Loan will also be launched, which will provide loans of up to 80% of the sale price at a low interest rate of 2.2% per annum if you are selected for the Youth Housing Subscription.”
-How do I get a lifelong education voucher for seniors?
“If you are a senior citizen aged 65 or older who is a basic livelihood security recipient or a near-poor class, you can visit your community center or access the National Institute for Lifelong Education website to apply for a lifelong education voucher. This will provide a voucher worth 350,000 won per year to 8,000 people on a first-come, first-served basis to attend training programs such as barista and sommelier. Previously, this was provided regardless of age, but a new program exclusively for the elderly will be created starting next year. The number of jobs for the elderly will increase from 1.03 million this year to 1.1 million next year, the largest increase ever.”
-What changes will there be in support for low-income people?
“The basic livelihood security benefit received when household income is 32% or less of the median income will increase. For a family of four, it will be 1,952,000 won, which is 118,000 won more than this year. On an annual basis, it will be 1.41 million won more.
“For households with a median income of less than 32%, including pregnant women, infants, and elementary, middle, and high school students, an agricultural and food voucher worth 100,000 won per month for a four-person household will be provided. For basic livelihood security beneficiaries and children, seniors, and pregnant women in the near-lowest income brackets suffering from environmental diseases such as atopic dermatitis, an electronic voucher (environmental health voucher) worth 100,000 won per year will be provided to be used for treatment or nature experiences, and for basic livelihood security households with children under the age of 3, soundproof mats will be provided up to 500,000 won.”
-What are the criteria for self-employed individuals who can receive 300,000 won in support for delivery and courier fees?
“Small business owners with annual sales of less than 140 million won can receive up to 300,000 won in delivery and courier fees. The government estimates that about 680,000 small business owners will receive support. The total budget is 203.7 billion won. In addition, the maximum store demolition cost support will increase from 2.5 million won to 4 million won.”
2024-08-28 04:24:43