Korea Hope Savings Account (희망저축계좌) 2026: Who Qualifies, What the Government Adds, and How to Apply

What is the Korea Hope Savings Account, and who can join?

The Korea Hope Savings Account (희망저축계좌, huimang jeochuk gyejwa) is a government program that adds its own deposits to the savings of low-income households that keep working for three years. Households on livelihood or medical benefits use Type I, and housing or education benefit households and the near-poor use Type II.

This guide reflects what I could confirm as of November 13, 2026. I could not open the official Ministry of Health and Welfare or Bokjiro notices directly, so the numbers below come from the asset-building portal’s program description, local-government notices, and news reports. Anything I could not pin down is marked “reported” or left as unknown. Before you act, compare it with the asset-building portal (자산e룸터) and Bokjiro, which is Korea’s national welfare information site.

Think of it as a work-and-save contract rather than a savings account. The name sounds like a bank product, but the thing the program actually checks is whether someone in your household is employed. That makes it very different from the rate-shopping you do for an ordinary account, which I cover in best savings accounts in Korea for 2026.

	Type I	Type II
Who	Households on livelihood or medical benefits	Households on housing or education benefits, plus other near-poor households
Recognized income	At or below 40% of the standard median income	At or below 50% of the standard median income
Work test	Household work or business income of at least 60% of the 40% median amount	At least one member actively working
Enrollment	One person per household	One person per household

Sources: the asset-building portal description and local-government notices, as of Nov 13, 2026. Local wording varies, and your community center makes the final call.

Is this program meant for expats living in Korea?

Mostly it is built for Korean households inside the basic livelihood security system, and I could not verify whether foreign residents can join. If you are a foreign resident, the first question is not income. It is whether you can be in the benefit system at all.

Nothing I found addressed visa status. The sources only described the general rules for domestic benefit and near-poor households, and none mentioned an exception for foreigners or marriage migrants. I would rather say that plainly than guess. Eligibility could turn on nationality, residence status, and whether you hold a resident registration, and any of those could change the answer.

Here is the practical path. Call the Ministry of Health and Welfare call center at 129, or visit the community center for your registered address and ask two questions: “Can someone with my residency status be enrolled in the benefit categories this program requires?” and, if yes, “Which round is open?” If the answer is no, a program like the Youth Future Savings Account or ordinary tax-advantaged accounts such as the Korea ISA may be the realistic alternative.

How much income do you need for Type I?

You need income, but not too much and not too little. Type I has a ceiling on recognized income and, separately, a floor on how much the household earns from work.

The floor reported in the sources is household work or business income of at least 60 percent of the 40 percent median amount. For a one-person household that was described as about 615,000 won a month. That is not trivial if you rely on short part-time shifts, so collect a few months of pay records before you go in.

The ceiling matters after you enroll too. One summary said the 2026 maintenance ceiling for household income was about 5.36 million won a month for one to three people and about 6.49 million won for four people. I only saw that figure in one summary, so treat it as a rough marker rather than a rule. The direction of the design is sensible: the program wants your income to rise, so it allows room above the entry bands.

“Recognized income” is not the same as your salary. It adds an assumed income from assets to your actual income, so someone with a modest salary but meaningful savings or property can still fall outside the band.

What are the Type II requirements, and how does the match work?

Type II covers housing or education benefit households and other near-poor households with recognized income at or below 50 percent of the median, plus someone working.

A local notice listed these 2026 figures for 50 percent of the standard median income: 1,282,119 won for one person, 2,099,646 won for two, 2,679,518 won for three, and 3,247,369 won for four. Use them for a first gut check only, because recognized income includes converted asset value.

On the match, the sources disagree, and I will not smooth that over. One local notice described monthly deposits of 100,000 to 500,000 won matched at 100,000 won a month in year one, 200,000 in year two, and 300,000 in year three. Another summary mentioned only a 100,000-won monthly government contribution. I could not tell which is current, so I am leaving the Type II total out. The round announcement at your community center is the document that settles it.

Type II also carries conditions at maturity. Notices mention completing self-reliance education and submitting a plan for how you will use the money.

How much does the government add to what you save?

For Type I, the reported structure is simple: you save at least 100,000 won a month and the government adds 300,000 won a month as an earned-income incentive.

Item	Per month	Over 3 years (36 months)
Your deposit (minimum)	100,000 won	3,600,000 won
Government incentive	300,000 won	10,800,000 won
Total before interest	400,000 won	14,400,000 won

Type I figures as reported, as of Nov 13, 2026. Interest depends on the bank and is not included.

For a household that puts in only the minimum, the government pays three of every four won. That is why the program is competitive, and why it comes with strings. You must keep working for the full term. After maturity, reports say there is an exit condition: leaving the benefit rolls, with a grace period of six months mentioned.

That last part deserves a real conversation before you enroll. The money is partly a transition fund. If becoming ineligible for benefits would leave your household worse off month to month, you want to understand the numbers on both sides before year three, not at the maturity counter.

What do you have to do for three years, and where do people slip?

Two things have to continue: your deposits and your earned income. Type I notices describe a monthly work-income floor of 100,000 won, and six months in a row below it can trigger clawback of the government money.

You can pause deposits for up to 12 months of the three-year term for unavoidable reasons, such as losing a job or the illness or injury of yourself or a dependent, but you apply in advance. The word that matters is “advance.”

A failure case (a composite, not one real person)

Picture a household where one person works on contract. The contract ends, the automatic deposit keeps running, and for four months there is no new pay record. The account looks alive in the banking app, but the household has dropped below the work-income test. Nobody asked for a pause, so when the community center reviews the file, the household has months of non-compliance and no approved suspension. This is a composite I constructed to show the mechanism, not a story about a real person. The lesson is to contact the center before the work stops, not after.

At maturity the conditions get stricter. Notices describe keeping the account for the full three years, completing a total of 10 hours of self-reliance education, and submitting a fund-use plan. If you leave without meeting the conditions, the government portion is reported to be reclaimed and you get back only what you deposited. Recognized exit reasons vary by round, so keep the paperwork you receive at enrollment.

Is the account open for applications right now, in November 2026?

Possibly, but I cannot confirm it, because the sources conflict.

A private guide lists a fourth Type I round from November 2 to November 16, 2026, after a first round in early February. A local-government page also carried a fourth-round line for November, but the same row showed both November 16 and November 20, so the end date was unclear. On the other side, a news report citing local notices said the annual enrollment target and budget filled early in the first round, and that extra rounds in June, September and November were halted. Some district offices also marked Type II as closed from the second round.

If the fourth round is actually open, today is November 13, so you have about three days. A phone call is the fastest test. Ask your community center whether this round is accepting applications, and if it is closed, when the next one is expected and whether there is a waiting list. Do not rely on any blog, including this one, for the live schedule.

Where do you apply, and what do you bring?

The standard route is in person at the administrative welfare center for the address where you are registered. One person per household can enroll.

Some guides say you can apply online through Bokjiro. Local notices we saw said online application was not available. Until you confirm, prepare for an in-person visit.

Bring ID. Most offices also want proof of work income, such as an employment contract or pay records, but the exact documents depend on the district and the round, so ask for the list by phone. Individual eligibility is decided by the office, and an online calculator only gives you a hint. For a sense of how a district publishes its rounds, see an example from a Seoul district office notice.

How is it different from youth savings accounts and the earned income tax credit?

The biggest difference is who the program counts. The Hope Savings Account counts a household. The youth savings products count an individual by age.

Program	Unit	What it is
Hope Savings Account I and II	Household	Matched savings for benefit and near-poor households that work
Youth Tomorrow Savings Account	Young individual	Matched savings for low-income working young people, reported as 100,000 won a month with 300,000 won matched
Earned income tax credit	Household	An annual cash payment based on income

Comparison based on guidance as of Nov 13, 2026. Check each program’s notice for details.

If you are not sure which one fits, sort by status. A benefit-receiving or near-poor household starts with the household program. A young worker looks at the youth products. If your goal is just a better rate on your own money, that is a different decision, and savings vs deposit vs CMA in Korea will serve you better.

Working low-income households can also look at the annual earned income tax credit application guide. Whether you can hold both at once depends on each program’s rules, so ask the community center rather than assuming.

Check three things. Is a round open right now? Which type does your household fall under? Can you realistically keep earning income for 36 months?

The third question is the heavy one. A big match is not a reason to hold on to unstable work at any cost. If you map out the pause procedure, the six-month window after maturity, and what leaving the benefit rolls does to your monthly budget before you sign up, the lump sum at the end becomes useful money instead of a surprise.

This article is general information as of November 13, 2026, not legal or financial advice. Income bands, round schedules and match structures can change by round and by Ministry of Health and Welfare guidance, so confirm current terms on the official pages and at your local community center.