Marriage Loan Penalty Delays Registration for 19.6% of Newlyweds in Korea

A significant share of newlywed couples in Korea delayed legal marriage registration last year to avoid what is being called a “marriage penalty” in government-backed housing loans. According to an analysis of National Data Office statistics, 47,096 of the 240,326 couples who registered marriages last year, or 19.6%, filed more than one year after getting married. One dual-income woman, surnamed Kim and aged 32, held a wedding in August last year and began living with her husband, but they remained legally unmarried after learning that their combined income exceeded policy-loan thresholds. Kim said staying single on paper allowed them to borrow more at lower interest rates and avoid paying millions of won more in annual interest. The fact that one in five newlywed couples delayed registration shows a mismatch between the marriage system and housing finance support rules. Source: rss.donga.com