FSC chief: Over 1.53 million youth sign up for savings program in first week

Cumulative applications for the Youth Future Savings Account, a government-backed savings product designed to help young people build assets, surpassed 1.53 million within a week of its launch. The Financial Services Commission said it would support all eligible applicants regardless of whether enrollment exceeds the original target, in line with a directive from President Lee Jae Myung.

FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won told the 28th Cabinet meeting and 13th Emergency Economic Review Meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday that applications reached 1.15 million within five days of the product's launch, with an additional 390,000 signing up on Monday, bringing the cumulative total to about 1.53 million. "The response has been extraordinarily strong," he said.

Lee said the birth-year-based staggered enrollment system — which had restricted sign-ups by the last digit of applicants' birth years — was lifted this week, allowing anyone to apply. "As the president made clear at last week's Cabinet meeting, I want to state explicitly that all youth who meet the eligibility requirements can receive support without any first-come, first-served cap or budget limit," he said.

President Lee asked about the originally budgeted enrollment figure and confirmed: "So even if it exceeds 3.2 million, everyone gets support." He added that applicants stand to receive close to 4.5 million won ($2,920) in effective benefits. "Young people are in a difficult situation — I hope they don't miss this opportunity and make good use of it," he said.

The Youth Future Savings Account, launched June 22, is a three-year savings product open to people aged 19 to 34, allowing monthly deposits of up to 500,000 won. When government contributions and tax-exempt interest income are factored in alongside the base interest rate, the effective annual yield can reach as high as 19 percent.

At the same meeting, FSC Chairman Lee also shared updates on domestic and international financial market conditions and the status of policy finance support programs.

On the resolution of long-overdue debt, Lee said a comprehensive review of bonds held by securitization companies and eligible for the Fresh Start Fund — prompted by the Sangnoksu case — had been completed, and that 45 companies had agreed to sell 1 trillion won worth of bonds to the fund. "We expect about 108,000 people to be freed from the burden of debt collection and able to return to normal economic activity," he added.

President Lee said long-overdue debts that offer no practical resolution while acting as a lifelong burden on individuals should be eliminated or at least minimized, and called for continued attention to plans for resolving such debts held by public-sector entities including Korea Asset Management Corp.