Seoul: The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced Sunday the approval of 184 sanctions against 166 individuals who have failed to fulfill their child support obligations. The measures, aimed at ensuring compliance, include travel bans and driver's license suspensions.

According to Yonhap News Agency, these sanctions were approved by the 51st child support enforcement review committee earlier this month. The approved sanctions comprise 120 travel bans, 41 driver's license suspensions, and 23 cases involving the public disclosure of personal information. The ministry reported that the average unpaid child support amount is approximately 45 million won (US$29,354), with the highest outstanding amount reaching around 192 million won.

The Child Support Act provides for sanctions against those who do not comply with a court order for a lump-sum child support payment for more than 30 days, miss payments at least three times despite a court enforcement order, or have unpaid child support exceeding 30 million won. The number of imposed sanctions has seen a steady rise, increasing from 639 cases in 2023 to 947 in 2024, and reaching 1,389 last year. In the first half of this year alone, 720 sanctions have been approved.

Gender Equality Minister Won Min-kyong has committed to reinforcing enforcement measures. The government is set to explore more effective penalties to alleviate the financial burden on single-parent families who face difficulties due to delayed child support payments.