Gender ministry to discipline 123 parents for not paying child support

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Tuesday it has ordered disciplinary measures for 123 parents who failed to pay child support after divorcing their spouses.

A review committee under the ministry ordered the identity disclosure of 12 people on the ministry's website, banned 71 others from leaving the country and suspended the driver's licenses of 40 people.

The number of people under disciplinary measures has been on the rise since the ministry began issuing disciplinary measures in July 2021 to facilitate the payment of the overdue expenses. Those being disciplined increased from 27 people in the second half of 2021 to 359 people in 2022 and 386 in August this year.

The ministry also said more people have been paying off their debts since the introduction of the penalty system, with five people paying off their debt last year and 21 people paying it off so far this year.

The percentage of outstanding child support that has been repaid has also been increasing, rising from 36.6 percent in September 2021 to 42.4 percent this year. (Yonhap)