Politics · South Korea · 7 hrs ago
South Korea extends family care support for some disabled people to 2028
South Korea has extended a temporary family-care arrangement for people with the most severe developmental disabilities and people with rare diseases.
The government approved the extension on October 13, changing the end date from October 31, 2026, to December 31, 2028.
Since November 2024, eligible people have been allowed to receive activity support services from a family member when an outside support worker is unavailable.
Family members can provide daily-life support under this arrangement, even though such care is usually allowed only in limited exceptional circumstances.
The extension is intended to reduce gaps in care for families who cannot find support workers.
The revised rule keeps the temporary permission in place until the new end date.
South Korea has extended a temporary policy allowing family members to provide activity support services to some people with disabilities through December 31, 2028.
The extension applies to people with the most severe developmental disabilities and people with rare diseases who cannot find outside support workers.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said the amendment to the enforcement decree was approved at a Cabinet meeting on October 13.
The policy was first introduced in November 2024 and had been due to expire on October 31, 2026.
The ministry said the extension aims to ease care gaps for affected families.
- Who
- People with the most severe developmental disabilities and people with rare diseases, and their family members who work as support providers.
- What
- A temporary allowance for family members to provide activity support services has been extended through December 31, 2028.
- When
- The Cabinet approved the amendment on October 13, 2026. The extension runs from the previous end date of October 31, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Families may have difficulty finding outside activity support workers, creating care challenges.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
South Korea began temporarily allowing family members to provide activity support services to eligible people with the most severe developmental disabilities and rare diseases.
The Cabinet approved an amendment extending the temporary allowance.
The extended allowance is set to expire.
- New expiry date
- December 31, 2028
- Previous expiry date
- October 31, 2026
- Extension
- 2 years and 2 months
- Eligible groups
- People with the most severe developmental disabilities and people with rare diseases
- Initial policy start
- November 2024
What people are saying
We hope this measure will ease, even a little, the concerns of families of people with the most severe disabilities and people with rare diseases.
We will continue working to ensure that activity support services for people with disabilities provide strong support for the lives of more people with disabilities and their families.
Sources
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