National Basic Living Security

The government provides low-income citizens with basic livelihood grants, housing subsidies, education subsidies (Ministry of Education) and medical aid to guarantee basic livelihood. The system offers systematic self-support through the service to those who can work. Even foreign residents can receive benefits based on the related ordinances.

Qualifications

Any foreigner who meets the following conditions as well as all the requirements in terms of the
① reported income and the ② dependent obligor is eligible to receive the basic livelihood subsidy.

Foreigners who have been registered and have lived in Korea, been married to Korean citizens and are expecting or raising a Korean child who is a minor (including cases of divorce and the death of a spouse)

Foreigners who live with the parents or grandparents of spouses who are Korean citizens Foreigners who do not meet the above qualifications may not apply for basic livelihood security aid. If there is a Korean citizen in the family of foreigners, the Korean citizen may be the beneficiary of basic livelihood security aid, provided that he or she meets the standards for the amount of income acknowledged.

1. The reported household income (the amount calculated by adding the amount of household income to the amount of income-translated property) is below the standard (certain percentage of the standard median income*) for beneficiaries.
(2019) livelihood pay 30%, medical pay 40%, housing pay 44%, education pay 50%
2. Those who do not have an obligator of support (direct family member, and spouse), those who have an obligator of support who is not able to support, or those who cannot receive support
According to the revision of customized wage (July, 2015), education wage is not applicable based on the standard of the obligator of support / According to the first comprehensive plan for basic livelihood security (Aug. 2017), living housing aid is not applicable based on the standard of the obligator of support (Oct. 2018~)

2019 median income

(Unit: KRW)

Base median income in 2019 : Base median income in 2019 by household size, from one- to six-person households.
Item	1-person household	2-person household	3-person household	4-person household	5-person household	6-person household	7-person household
Amount	1,707,008	2,906,528	3,760,032	4,613,536	5,467,040	6,320,544	7,174,048

The median income for a family of 8 or more is calculated by adding the difference between the median income for a family of 7 and 6 to the median income for a family of 7.

2019 Selection Standard for Assistance (% of the standard median income)

(Unit: KRW)

Supply and demand in 2019 and selection criteria : Living expense, medical, housing, and education allowances for household sizes ranging from one-to six-person households.
No. of family members	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Livelihood support (30% of the median)	512,102	871,958	1,128,010	1,384,061	1,640,112	1,896,163	2,152,214
Medical support (40% of the median)	682,803	1,162,611	1,504,013,	1,845,414	2,186,816	2,528,218	2,869,619
Housing support (44% of the median)	751,084	1,278,872	1,654,414	2,029,956	2,405,498	2,781,039	3,156,580
Education support (50% of the median)	853,504	1,453,264	1,880,016	2,306,768	2,733,520	3,160,272	3,587,024

Median income and selection criteria

Types of Benefits

Livelihood Benefits

Description: A form of monetary payment for daily commodities such as food, clothing, and fuel
Amount: Amount of the reported household income deducted from the minimum level of livelihood wage (30% of the median income)

Livelihood wage amount = the minimum level of livelihood wage (standard of selecting a target) – income acknowledged amount

Housing Aid

Description: Considering residence, resident type, size of family, etc., provide rent and repair & maintenance costs to support stable housing
Amount of cash benefits: Remunerated payments will be made for renting households based on the local average rent, number of household members, and recognized income. For households with their own homes, remunerated support for repair and maintenance cost will be given by classifying the repair need into minimal, moderate, or large-scale based on the recipient’s income.

Minimum level standards of renting households (as of 2019)

(Unit: KRW 10,000/month)

Minimum subsidization of leasing households : Level 1 to 4 subsidization of households ranging from 1 to 6 persons in size.
Item	1st grade area (Seoul)	2nd grade area (Gyeonggi·Incheon)	3rd grade area (metropolitan cities)	4th grade area (other regions)
1	23.3	20.1	16.3	14.7
2	26.7	22.6	22.6	16.1
3	31.6	27.2	21.3	19.4
4	36.5	31.7	24.7	22.0
5	37.7	32.9	25.8	22.9
6	44.1	38.9	29.6	26.7

When there are seven or more members of the household, standard rental cost increases by 10% for every two additional family members

The minimum level standard of households owning their own house (as of 2019)

Minimum subsidization of homeowners : Light, medium, or heavy maintenance according to the cost and time required.
Item	Light repair	Median repair	Big repair
Repair costs	3.78 million won	7.02 million won	10.26 million won
Repair period	3years	5years	7years

If the reported income is below the standard for livelihood wage, 100% of the repair cost is supported. If the reported income is below 35% of the standard median income, 90% of the repair cost is supported. If the reported income is over 35% and less than 43% of the standard median income, 80% of the repair cost is supported. For the island area that cannot be entered through land (except for Jeju Island), 10% will be added to the above repair costs.

Minimum guaranteed level

Educational Aid

Description: Admission fees, tuition, textbook costs, materials costs, and stationery costs

자가가구의 최저보장수준 : 수선비용과 수선주기에 따른 경보수, 중보수, 대보수를 설명하는 표입니다.
Target	Aid items	Aid amount (2019)
Elementary school students	Sub-textbook costs	KRW 132,000
Middle and high school students	Sub-textbook costs	KRW 209,000
Elementary school students	Stationary costs	KRW 71,000
Middle and high school students	Stationary costs	KRW 81,000
High school students	Textbook costs	Entire textbooks in the curriculum for the applicable grade
High school students	Admission fees/tuition	Entire amount announced by the principal

Childbirth Aid

Upon birth of a recipient [including expected childbirth], KRW 600,000 is paid in cash (1,200,000 for twins)

Funeral Aid

Assistance of 750,000 KRW per each deceased beneficiary.

How to Apply

To apply for national basic living security benefits, visit your local eup, myeon or dong resident center and submit the application for (change of) social welfare services and benefits.
A government official will perform an evaluation to determine your eligibility.
You will be informed of your eligibility within 30 days; some cases may take as long as 60 days to process.

Submit application form to eup/myeon/dong office
Government official examines applicant’s income and property records
Application denied or rejected

Useful Information

Health & Welfare Call Center 129 ( http://www.129.go.kr)

If you need counseling or information regarding health or welfare services for you and your family, please call 129 (area code + 129 when calling from a mobile phone)
Counseling for income security, financial support for living expenses, and social welfare, health and wellbeing: 09:00-18:00 weekdays
Counseling for emergency support: Open 24 hours a day, all year round

Please note that information contained within this publication is current as of April 2019; information is subject to change without notice.

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