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| The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family /Korea Times file |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Six divorced men who have been refusing to pay child support expenses to the custodial parent were issued a 100-day driver's license suspension, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
The ministry said that it has requested the law enforcement authorities to issue the order to the individuals, Thursday. The suspension will be retracted upon payment of unpaid child support expenses.
This is the first imposition of such an order for delinquency in child support payments after the relevant laws were revised in July.
Under the revised law, those who have failed to pay child support following a court order may face up to a one-year prison term, a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,550), an international travel ban or a driver's license suspension.
The government may also disclose their personal information, including their name, age and occupation on the ministry's website if they continue withholding payment.
According to the ministry, the six men have failed to pay 15.1 million won, 34.4 million won, 50.4 million won, 65.2 million won, 69.6 million won and 120 million won, respectively.
Of them, one man, who was identified only by his surname of Kim, paid 36 million won out of the total 65.2 million won he owed, after he was notified that his driver's license would soon be suspended.
"This case shows that the newly-introduced penalty against people who refuse to pay child support is having actual effects. We will continue to strengthen monitoring and revise the relevant measures to improve the environment for single parents to raise children," said an official at the gender equality ministry.
