To help young people form assets, the ‘Youth Hope Savings Savings’ was launched today (21st), which provides an annual interest rate of 10% with government support. There were so many applicants that it was difficult to access the bank app, but there were also concerns about running out of budget and dissatisfaction with the subscription conditions.
This is reporter Im Tae-woo.
<기자>
This morning, a notice appears saying that it is difficult to access a bank app.
This is because of the ‘Youth Hope Savings’, which started joining today.
It was decided to split into five sub-systems for five days from today by year of birth, but applicants flocked in all day.
When a subscriber saves up to 500,000 won per month for two years, about 5% of the interest given by the bank is tax-free, and the government adds an additional 4% as a savings incentive, which is effectively a 10% savings account.
[청년희망적금 가입자 : (적금 상품) 자체가 금리가 1~2%대밖에 없었는데, 정부 혜택으로 이렇게 청년 지원이 나오다 보니까 금리가 상당히 크잖아요?]
However, if your annual income exceeds KRW 36 million, you will not be able to join.
The average monthly salary of a worker is 3.2 million won before tax and 2.7 million won after tax, so the government’s promise of youth welfare is insignificant.
[청년 직장인 : 중소기업도 초봉이 3천만 원 넘는 데가 많거든요. 30대 청년들은 내 집 마련도 해야 되는데, 대출도 어렵고 이런 혜택도 못 받으니까 조금 씁쓸한 생각이 들었습니다.]
The current government budget can support 380,000 people, but 2 million people have already asked if they are eligible to join, so the budget is expected to run out quickly.
The government is discussing ways to add to the budget.
(Video coverage: Kim Tae-hoon, video editing: Kim Kyung-yeon, VJ: Park Hyun-woo, screen source: YouTube ‘YESPICK’)