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Korea scraps 'deemed family support' after 26 years — Medical Aid became easier to qualify for in January 2026

In effectTakes effect: 2026-01-01
EveryoneFamiliesForeign residentsNew citizens & PR holders

The rule that added an assumed amount of family support to an applicant's income, whether or not any money actually changed hands, was abolished on 1 January 2026. It had been in place since the National Basic Living Security Act was enacted in 2000, 26 years earlier. Low-income households previously pushed out of Medical Aid by a relative's income can now qualify.

What changes

The deemed support amount treated a family member with a support obligation as if they were contributing to the applicant's living costs, and counted that amount as the applicant's income. People who in fact received nothing were repeatedly disqualified from Medical Aid because paper income appeared where none existed. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the abolition on 9 December 2025, and it took effect on 1 January 2026.

The family support obligation test itself has not disappeared. Medical Aid still requires that there be no obligated relative, or that the relative lack the capacity to support, or that support cannot be obtained. Capacity is judged by whether the relative's assessed support income reaches the sum of 40% of the applicant household's standard median income plus 100% of the relative's own household standard median income. What changed is that, once past that test, no deemed amount is added to the applicant's income any more.

Other changes started at the same time. A differentiated co-payment now applies where annual outpatient visits exceed 365: the excess carries a 30% co-payment rate. It reaches roughly 550 people out of about 1.56 million Medical Aid recipients, about the top 0.03%, and excludes those registered under the rare and severe disease programme, people with severe disabilities, children and pregnant women. The co-payment rate for long-acting injectable antipsychotics fell from 5% to 2%, and mental health coverage widened: individual counselling went from twice to seven times a week and family counselling from once to three times a week. The 2026 Medical Aid budget is about 9.84 trillion won in national funds, up 1.1518 trillion won or 13.3% from 8.6882 trillion in 2025 — the largest ever.

Who this applies to

  • Low-income households previously disqualified because of an obligated relative's income, most often an adult child. Elderly households living apart from their children and receiving nothing in practice are the most directly affected.
  • The Medical Aid threshold is 40% of standard median income. For 2026 the standard median income is 2,564,238 won for a one-person household and 6,494,738 won for a four-person household, putting the thresholds at roughly 1,025,695 won and 2,597,895 won respectively.
  • Foreign nationals qualify only through the special provision in Article 3-2 of the Medical Aid Act. It covers people registered under Article 31 of the Immigration Act who are married to a Korean national and either they or their Korean spouse is pregnant; who are raising a Korean minor child; who share a livelihood or residence with their spouse's Korean lineal ascendant; or who, after divorce from or the death of a Korean spouse, are raising a Korean minor child or carrying the deceased spouse's child. Recognised refugees may also qualify.
  • Marriage-migrant households covered by that provision benefit from the abolition on the same terms, because the deemed amount was calculated from the support relationship rather than from nationality.
  • Naturalised Korean citizens are assessed on the same basis as any other citizen; the special provision does not need to be considered.
  • Overseas Koreans who have acquired permanent residence abroad, and people whose residence cannot be established, are excluded. Recovering eligibility after returning requires filing a permanent-return report under Article 12 of the Overseas Emigration Act.

What to do now

  1. 1If you were rejected before because of an obligated relative's income, apply again. Where the deemed amount was part of the reason, the outcome may now differ.
  2. 2Apply at the community service centre for your registered address. A simulated calculation on Bokjiro (bokjiro.go.kr) gives a rough sense of eligibility first.
  3. 3If a parent lives apart from their children and receives no actual support, this is the clearest case that the abolition was designed for. Check it.
  4. 4Foreign spouses and single-parent households should first confirm they fall within Article 3-2. Prepare documents proving the relationship: a marriage certificate, the child's family relation certificate, an alien registration card.
  5. 5If you visit clinics often, count your annual outpatient visits. The National Health Insurance Service notifies both the recipient and the local mayor or district head when annual visits pass 180, 240 and 300, and beyond 300 a municipal Medical Aid case manager provides intensive case management.
  6. 6If you are in long-term psychiatric treatment, ask your doctor whether the expanded counselling frequency and the reduced co-payment on long-acting injectable antipsychotics apply to you.

Commonly misunderstood

  • Abolishing the deemed amount is not the same as abolishing the family support obligation test. If an obligated relative is judged capable of support, Medical Aid remains hard to obtain.
  • What was abolished is the deemed support amount within Medical Aid. Do not read it as a change to the criteria for other benefit types.
  • The differentiated co-payment reaches only the tiny group exceeding 365 outpatient visits a year. Ordinary outpatient and pharmacy co-payment rules did not change, so there is no reason to expect routine costs to rise.
  • Medical Aid and health insurance are separate systems. A Medical Aid recipient pays for treatment under a different framework from a health insurance subscriber.
  • Returning to Korea does not automatically restore an overseas Korean's eligibility. A separate permanent-return report is required.

Official sources

The links below are official government publications. This page summarises them; always check the original before filing or applying.

Verified on: 2026-08-29

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This page explains a policy change and is not legal advice. Confirm how it applies to your situation with the responsible agency.

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Korea scraps 'deemed family support' after 26 years — Medical Aid became easier to qualify for in January 2026