The government is set to start distributing employment and child care subsidies for the second half of 2024 to two million households at a cost of one-point-83 trillion won, or around one-point-four billion U.S. dollars.

With the first payments going out Thursday, the combined amount for all of 2024 will total two-point-41 trillion won for two-point-12 million households. 

That represents a 45-point-four billion won increase from 2023 levels.
 
Among the recipients, around 42 percent were in their 60s or older, while single-person households accounted for 65 percent of the total.

An additional 40-thousand dual-income families became eligible for the subsidies after the government eased the criteria.