Welfare in South Korea

Welfare in South Korea forms a relatively new and small part of government spending in South Korea, having grown rapidly during the 1990s.[1][2]

1990–2007

National health insurance was introduced in South Korea in 1977.[2] By 1989 South Korea had universal health coverage.[2] Other social insurance programmes in South Korea include the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI, South Korea's first social insurance program dating to 1964), Employment Insurance (EI, dating to 1995).[2]

The recent trend in South Korea is to increase welfare spending: between 1990 and 2007 South Korean government expenditure on welfare increased at an 11% annual rate in real terms, which was the fastest rate of increase in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) area.[1][2] Social expenditure in the years 1990–2001 rose from 4.25% to 8.7% (with a peak at 10.9% in 1998).[3][2]

2007–present

Spending of welfare in South Korea formed 7.6% of GDP in 2007, (the OECD average was 19%).[1] The primary social welfare programme in South Korea is the Basic Livelihood Security Programme (BLSP), which covers 3% of the country's population (about a fifth of the 15% of South Koreans living in relative poverty).[1] Another program, the National Basic Livelihood Security System (NBLSS) was introduced in 2001.[2] Benefits for families in 2011 were equivalent to 0.5% of the South Korean GDP, the lowest in the OECD (OECD's average was 2.2%).[1]

Welfare for the elderly amounts to 1.6% of GDP as of 2007 (a quarter of the OECD average).[1] Pensions in South Korea are administered by the National Pension Service (NPS), introduced in 1988.[1] Kim reported that in 2002, only 6.5% of the South Koreans over the age of 60 lived on public pensions.[2] About one-fifth of the elderly receive pensions, which is a major factor contributing to the fact that nearly a half of the South Korean elderly live in relative poverty, which is the highest proportion among OECD countries.[1]

A quarter of welfare spending from the government, in forms of cash payments, goes to the poorest 20% of the population, which is contributing to the growing inequality in the South Korean population.[1] The South Korean tax and welfare system is the least effective in reducing inequality among all of OECD countries.[1]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 OECD Economic Surveys of Korea, April 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Yeon-Myung Kim, 2006, Towards a Comprehensive Welfare State in South Korea
  3. ↑ Gho, Kyeonghwan et al. 2003, Estimation of Social Expenditures in Korea on the Basis of the OECD guideline: 1990-2001, cited by Yeon-Myung Kim (2006)
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