The Figure Called Standard Median Income
It is the income of the household sitting at the midpoint when the whole population is lined up by income. The government sets it anew each year, and welfare programs use it to define who qualifies.
The 2026 standard median income rose 6.51% for a four-person household. For a one-person household it rose 7.20%, a larger increase. In money that is KRW 172,225 a month for a one-person household and KRW 396,965 a month for a four-person household.
When this figure rises, each program's income threshold rises with it. If your income was slightly over the line last year and has not changed, this year it falls within the threshold, because the threshold moved. That is why a rejection is worth recalculating once the year turns.
The 2026 standard median income as announced by 보건복지부.
Each Benefit Applies a Different Percentage
Basic livelihood security benefits build their selection thresholds by multiplying the standard median income by a set percentage. The 2026 percentages are 32% for livelihood, 40% for medical, 48% for housing, and 50% for education, unchanged from 2025.
Taking livelihood benefit, the threshold is KRW 2,078,316 a month for a four-person household and KRW 820,556 a month for a one-person household. That figure becomes the minimum guaranteed level.
Threshold amounts by household size
The standard median income multiplied by each benefit's percentage, rounded to the won.
Thresholds differ by benefit even within one household. A three-person household with a recognized income of KRW 2.3 million a month is above the livelihood and medical thresholds but below the housing and education ones. Falling short on one does not rule out the rest.
The lower the percentage, the harder it is to pass. Livelihood is lowest at 32% and education highest at 50%. Where only one of the four applies, it is education benefit. Applications are not made benefit by benefit: they are filed at once at a community service center, and the applicable benefits follow from there.
Standard median income × percentage
Find the standard median income for your household size, multiply it by the percentage the program sets, and that is the program's income threshold.
Turning the Percentage in a Notice Into an Amount
Support programs outside the welfare system use the same figure. Notices for youth support, childbirth and childcare support, and various vouchers are written as "standard median income of 150% or less." Converting the percentages that come up most often gives the following.
Where the percentage in a notice is not in the table, multiply the 100% figure by that percentage.
Income Alone Does Not Settle It
The figure used in assessment is recognized income
Assessments use recognized income rather than the salary itself. It is the income items plus an amount converted from assets into income. Substantial assets push a household over the threshold even on a low income.
Setting your salary against the tables above therefore produces a mismatched result. Assets that are not cash, such as a jeonse deposit or a car, are converted and added to income, so a household that passes on income alone can fail the assessment. The conversion method and the deductions differ by program and are set out in each program's notice.
Conditions other than income
Beyond the percentage and the asset test come requirements on age, length of residence, and household composition. Income falls below the threshold but age rules it out; the requirements are met but assets block it. Qualifying for one program says nothing about another.
Whether several programs can be received together is stated separately in each notice. 정부24's 보조금24 (the government's benefits portal) lists more than ten thousand support programs and, once identity is verified, narrows the list to what is available to you. Programs run by local governments on their own do not appear there, and notices for your area are checked separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is household size counted?
The resident registration certificate is the basis, and the detailed rules differ by program. The difference lies in whether family members living elsewhere are included, and each notice states which applies.
When does the standard median income change?
It is notified anew each year. The 2026 figure is 6.51% higher than 2025 for a four-person household.
Can I see everything I qualify for in one place?
보조금24 on 정부24 narrows the list to the programs that apply once identity is verified. What it covers is not the whole set of programs, so notices from the agency concerned are worth checking for any program of interest.
What is 150% of the standard median income in won?
Multiplying the 2026 figures by 1.5 gives KRW 3,846,357 for one person, KRW 6,298,938 for two, KRW 8,038,554 for three, and KRW 9,742,107 for four. Where a notice says 120%, multiply by 1.2; where it says 180%, by 1.8.
Do I qualify if my salary is below the threshold?
Salary alone does not settle it. Assessments use recognized income, which adds an amount converted from assets to income, so a salary below the threshold can still be pushed over by assets. The reverse also happens: no income, but assets block it.
Sources and basis
- 2026 standard median income and selection thresholds by benefit — 보건복지부
- Minimum guaranteed livelihood benefit of KRW 820,556 for one person and KRW 2,078,316 for four — the same source
Verified August 7, 2026. Please check the notice from the agency concerned for the income thresholds and eligibility requirements of any individual program.