Visitors look at items on display during a baby fair in Sejong, central South Korea, on Dec. 27, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A majority of young mothers in South Korea are facing a high risk of depression, a study showed Tuesday.
The National Youth Policy Institute and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs published a joint report that said young mothers under 24 years of age struggle to make ends meet.
The research team conducted a nationwide survey of 101 young mothers, 61.4 percent of whom faced a high risk of depression. This was five times higher than the risk faced by young mothers over the age of 24.
Younger moms showed an average score of 18.6 points in terms of depression risk, with 16 points or higher indicating a high risk of depression. They scored two times higher than young moms older than 24.
Among the respondents, 41.6 percent of teenage moms were in debt, with an average outstanding balance of 27,568,000 won.
Among them, 78.2 percent were the only income earner in the household, and 12.9 percent had no source of income. More than half of those who said they had a source of income (53.3 percent) worked irregularly or part-time.
The research team estimated that based on the analysis of Statistics Korea reports from 2020, there were a total of 26,210 households in which either the father or the mother was under 24 years of age.
Among them, there were 7,876 households in which both the father and the mother were under 24 years of age, qualifying for the childcare subsidies (200,000 won (US$158) per month) offered by the Ministry of Gender and Equality.
The remaining 18,000 households in which only one of the two parents was under 24 years old, were excluded from such benefits.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
