“18‑Year‑Olds Apply for One‑Month Insurance Premium Support – 11,114 Applicants; Parent‑Proxy Applications Twice as Many as Self‑Applications”

According to the total data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Pension Fund on the 28th, about 2.46% of the 45,1000 people born in 2009 who will be 18 next year applied for the first insurance‑premium support program. A total of 11,114 applicants were confirmed; of those, 4,630 applied directly as the primary applicant while 6,384 were proxy applications from parents, which is about twice as many as the self‑applications and draws attention.

The first insurance‑premium support is a scheme in which the government pays one month’s worth of national pension premium (44,200 KRW). Once a record of enrollment is made, the applicant will also have eligibility to pay later even if they do not receive income. Through this the amount of pension contributions increases and long‑term benefits such as social security or disability pension are expected to be linked.

By region, Seoul metropolitan area and other large cities rank highest; In Gyeonggi province Yongin City has 360 applicants – the most among all. Among them there were 139 self‑applications and 221 proxy applications from parents – a difference of about 1.6 times. The larger cities in Gyeonggi such as Bupwon, Goyang, Hwaseong, Seongnam have relatively higher numbers of applicants. In Seoul the district of Gangnam has 204; Songpa, Yangcheon, Seocheon, Gangseo, Nohwa, and Gangdong districts follow. In contrast, Myeong (7) is lower while Jongno, Yongsan, Jungang, and Geumchon are relatively small. In the other provinces, Chungbuk Cheongju, Gyeongnam Changwon, Sejong etc have comparatively many applicants. Conversely, 71 counties, cities or districts had less than 10 applicants; some areas still have no applicant or only one.

This tendency of higher parent‑proxy applications in large cities such as Seoul and the metropolitan area reflects that information accessibility and parents’ willingness to help are high there – a meaningful observation. The first insurance‑premium support program is part of President Lee Jae‑myeong’s plan “Expanding youth participation and providing basic living support for the future.” Initially it was designed to give benefits to all 18‑year‑olds, but later it changed to only those who qualify. Whether the government paying one month’s worth of premium actually encourages enrollment in national pension will need further analysis.