Who qualifies for South Korea's energy voucher of up to 701,300 won this summer?

Applications for South Korea's energy voucher program, which helps low-income households cover heating and cooling costs, opened again this year. Households receiving basic livelihood support under the National Basic Living Security Act — and whose members include seniors, infants, people with disabilities, or others meeting specific eligibility criteria — can receive assistance toward electricity, city gas, district heating, kerosene, LPG and coal briquette costs.

The program's budget rose 2.6 percent this year to 494 billion won ($343 million), up from 481.5 billion won last year. Benefit amounts vary by household size: single-person households receive 295,200 won, two-person households 407,500 won, three-person households 532,700 won, and households of four or more 701,300 won. These figures represent the total annual benefit for 2026, not a monthly payment.

To qualify, a household must meet both an income criterion and a household-member characteristic criterion. On the income side, the household must be receiving livelihood, medical, residential or education benefits under the National Basic Living Security Act. On the household-member side, the applicant or a household member listed on the resident registration must fall into one of the following categories: seniors aged 65 or older, children aged 8 or younger, people with disabilities, pregnant women, patients with severe, rare or intractable diseases, single-parent families, youth-headed households, or families with multiple children. Basic livelihood recipients who do not meet the household-member criterion are excluded from the program.

Vouchers can be used from July 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027. Starting this year, the separate spending caps for summer and winter have been abolished, allowing recipients to use the full amount freely throughout the entire period. Those who wish to reserve their entire benefit for winter heating — rather than spending any of it in summer — must select the "summer charge exemption" option when applying.

Vouchers can be redeemed in two ways: as a deduction from utility bills or through the National Happy Card. During summer, only the utility bill deduction method is available; during winter, recipients may choose either option.

Several improvements to the program take effect this year. A new "advance exception payment" scheme has been introduced for recipients whose energy costs are bundled into their wolse — monthly rent — making direct payment difficult; those households will receive their energy support in cash. Also launching for the first time is the "coal briquette conversion energy voucher" project, which subsidizes households switching from coal briquettes to other heating fuels.

The program's importance has grown as energy costs have risen. Electricity rates were frozen in the second quarter of this year, but a rate increase in the second half of the year remains a possibility. If summer electricity bills climb due to concentrated cooling demand, the impact on low-income households is expected to be significant.

Applications are open through Dec. 31. Recipients from the previous year whose address and household composition have not changed will be processed automatically. Those who have moved or experienced changes in household membership must report the changes to their local community welfare center and reapply, as updates are not reflected automatically.

Experts advise eligible households to confirm their status in advance, noting that people miss out on the benefit every year simply by failing to apply. Elderly and disabled households in particular are often unaware of the application process and should make active use of guidance from local governments and welfare organizations. Recipients are also urged to plan their spending carefully, as any unused balance expires at the end of the voucher period.

올해는 ‘종전 서명하는 트럼프’…역대 G7엔 이런 사진이?[나우, 어스]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10782580