Yoon to push for foreign students in domestic service, more accessible newlywed housing loans

Politics

Published: 04 Apr. 2024, 16:25 Updated: 04 Apr. 2024, 16:56

Yoon to push for foreign students in domestic service, more accessible newlywed housing loans

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a meeting held on Thursday at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, to discuss further details on policy plans outlined during previous town hall meetings. [YONHAP]

The government will push for foreign employment in the child care and domestic service industries in Korea and a lower threshold for housing loans for newlyweds, President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged Thursday.

The announcement, which was made during a meeting held at the presidential office in central Seoul, follows a series of policy plans Yoon outlined during 24 rounds of town hall meetings that took place across the country from January.

The main area of focus for the latest meeting concerned policies related to the economy and livelihoods, including employing foreign domestic workers and improving access to housing loan programs.

“There is nothing more important than tackling the low birthrate, and more than anything, it is crucial to lessen the burden of child care for double-income families,” said Yoon.

The president argued that the pay rate for domestic workers “is too high for the average double-income household,” saying that “the most effective solution would be to allow 163,000 foreign students and 39,000 married immigrants in Korea to find jobs in the domestic service and child care sectors.”

Adding that “such employment will not be constrained by the minimum wage regulation, and result in creating a flexible market based on supply and demand,” Yoon urged relevant government branches, including the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, to come up with detailed policy measures.

The president also addressed the recent trend of young newlyweds refraining from registering their marriages in order to remain qualified for governmental financial support programs, and promised to make low-interest housing loans more accessible to them.

Eligibility for the low-interest loan support program for jeonse — or a lump-sum deposit contract — currently requires a single person to have an annual income of less than 50 million won ($37,103), while the income cap is 75 million won for a married couple. The government plans to increase the limit for a couple to 100 million won.

The housing loan program for families with newborn children will also be subject an income cap increase, rising from the current 130 million won to 200 million won.

Moreover, a division dedicated to housing policy programs for younger generations was set up under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday.

“The government has immediately implemented policies and programs that could go into effect right away,” such as electricity rate reductions for small business owners and loan refinancing support programs, Yoon said, and promised to “complete any kind of necessary legislative reforms within the government’s capabilities to the greatest extent possible by the first half of this year, or by the end of this year at the latest.”

Attendees of the Thursday meeting included cabinet members such as Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, as well as Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyun.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]