South Korea South Korea has a democratic form of government that is a unitary state, with a central government managing national affairs and upper-level localities overseeing various administrative regions as assigned by the central government. The social, economic, and political conditions of South Korea have continuously improved since 1960. However, the distribution of growth benefits remains unequal, especially among women, the elderly, and youth. The existing welfare system still has several gaps, such as exclusion or neglect of socially vulnerable groups and strict criteria/qualifications for receiving assistance.
Many administrative regions have taken steps to address these issues by allowing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate with academic and partial budget support from the government, along with supportive social welfare laws and policies.
However, due to the continuous decline in South Korea’s birth rate over the past decade from 2.0% to 0.8% and 0.2% in 2012, the government has introduced population policies, including the Single-Parent Family Support Act, to emphasize increasing the population and reducing infant mortality rates. The aim is to promote single-parent family welfare to ensure quality of life for children in the country. These policies are positive, focusing on improving family planning quality and enhancing maternal and child health services without charge, as well as preventing unplanned pregnancies and abortions, which is another way to increase the quality population of South Korea.
The laws and welfare for single mothers focus on enabling single parents to raise their children healthily and with full age-appropriate development. Single parents can support themselves, for example:
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- Welfare benefits include monthly childcare expenses, support salaries, annual education expenses, annual medical expenses, etc.
- Welfare service includes housing with facilities (58 state facilities accommodating 1,000 families), counseling centers for pregnancy testing, baby products and food, alternative schools, infant care services, legal assistance, etc.
In South Korea, single mothers refer to those who are divorced, widowed, or teenagers who become pregnant without marriage. Single mothers face prejudice and social expectations from having children without marriage. Women who are pregnant or raising children alone (Unwedded/Unmarried mothers) or become pregnant while studying are expelled from school. If they are working, they are forced to leave their jobs, leading to loss of educational opportunities and unemployment, resulting in difficult circumstances and poverty. Single mothers do not receive legal status recognition under general marriage laws.
Source: Study visit on the support system for teenage mothers in South Korea, a project to strengthen the support system for unplanned teenage pregnancies, in collaboration with the Department of Social Development and Welfare, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and the Sexual Health Promotion Program, Women’s Health Understanding Foundation, supported by the Health Promotion Fund in 2014.