One in four participants in South Korea's Youth Future Savings Account, a state-backed asset-building program for low-income workers, either received none of the government's matching funds or closed the account before maturity, data showed. Job loss and unpaid leave were the most frequently cited reasons among those who quit.
Of the 47,970 people who joined in 2023 and reached maturity this year, 35,320, or 73.6%, received the full government match, according to data obtained by Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, from the Korea Self-Sufficiency Welfare Development Institute on the 22nd.
A total of 9,381 participants, or 19.6%, closed their accounts early. Another 276 completed the three-year term but withdrew only their own contributions. The 2,993 who are still holding accounts will have them closed without any government funds once a six-month grace period expires. The full-payout rate is 3.7 percentage points lower than that of the 2022 cohort, the first to reach maturity, in which 32,823 of 42,465 participants, or 77.3%, received the entire match.
Under the program, working young adults in households earning 50% or less of the median income save 100,000 won a month and the government adds 300,000 won. After three years, participants receive 14.4 million won, including their own 3.6 million won in deposits, plus interest of up to 5% a year. To collect the full match, participants must stay employed and make deposits for at least 24 months.
Behind "Voluntary" Closures: Job Loss and Cash Shortages Account for 81%
The unclaimed government funds have snowballed. Matching payments withheld because of early closures by participants who joined between 2022 and 2026 total 49.95 billion won, excluding interest.
"Personal choice" is the most common category in official closure records, but income was the real driver. In a separate survey of 1,460 people who closed accounts in 2024 and 2025, the Korea Self-Sufficiency Welfare Development Institute found that "unpaid leave or job loss" ranked first at 45.3%, followed by "need for urgent cash" at 20.3% and "not enough cash to make deposits" at 15.7%. The three categories combined account for 81.3%.
Heo said job loss and financial hardship lay behind the closures recorded as voluntary, and that a structure forcing people to break open their accounts at their most difficult moment must be changed urgently.
Starting this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare extended the period during which participants may suspend deposits when saving becomes difficult, such as after losing a job, to a maximum of 12 months from six months. Suspensions for military service, pregnancy, childbirth or child care can run up to two years.
The ministry said on the 29th of last month that it had selected 24,145 participants for this year. With job loss and unpaid leave topping the list of reasons for quitting, the key question is how much the expanded suspension rules will reduce early closures.