Starting from the New Year of 2026, the standard median income has been raised to the highest level ever, leading to a significant increase in the number of recipients for livelihood, medical, housing, and education benefits.

Jeonju City announced on the 27th that the standard median income, which serves as the basis for welfare benefits this year, has been increased by 6.51% compared to the previous year, reaching 6,494,738 won per month for a 4-person household.

This marks the highest growth rate since the introduction of the system, with the median income for single-person households also rising by 7.20% to 2,564,238 won per month. This is expected to maximize the support for single-person households, which account for the majority of the recipients of basic livelihood support.

With the increase in the standard median income, the criteria for selecting recipients of national basic livelihood benefits have also been raised across the board.

Specifically, for a 4-person household, the thresholds are as follows: △livelihood benefits up to 32% of the median income, amounting to 2,078,316 won per month △medical benefits up to 40%, 2,597,895 won △housing benefits up to 48%, 3,117,474 won △education benefits up to 50%, 3,247,369 won. This represents an increase of up to approximately 200,000 won per month for each benefit compared to 2025.

Moreover, this system improvement is expected to address blind spots that were previously excluded from support.

For instance, to support the independence of young people, the age range eligible for deductions on labor and business income has been expanded from under 29 to under 34, with the additional deduction amount increased from 400,000 won to 600,000 won.

Furthermore, the criteria for automobiles for households with multiple children have been relaxed from 3 children to 2 children, and the standards for passenger and freight vehicles have been made more realistic, below small size and under 5 million won, lowering the threshold for benefits.