Higher Minimum Living Expenses for Personal Rehabilitation in 2026 and Conditional Confirmation

From 2026, the minimum living expenses used as the standard for calculating monthly repayments in personal rehabilitation (gaein hoesaeng) have increased. Because an increase in minimum living expenses directly affects monthly repayments, anyone preparing for or already going through personal rehabilitation should know about it. Along with the revised amounts, we have summarized the questions about length of employment that we often receive in consultations, and conditional confirmation.

2026 minimum living expenses by household size

Household living expenses rise steadily every year in line with inflation. For people whose income has stayed the same or been frozen for a long time, the increase in minimum living expenses may actually help with a personal rehabilitation filing, because the higher the minimum living expenses, the lower the monthly repayment can be.

Can I file even if I have worked only a short time?

To go through personal rehabilitation, you need a steady income. However, many people who change jobs often or have taken time off work ask whether they can still file. We are also often asked how many months you need to have worked before filing.

You can file for personal rehabilitation right away as long as an employment contract has been signed. About two to three months after filing, the correction stage takes place, and at that point you submit pay statements from your current workplace and records of salary received to the court to substantiate your actual income.

What is conditional confirmation?

If the court finds that your income is not regular because you change jobs often, it may issue a conditional confirmation decision. A conditional confirmation is usually a confirmation decision with the condition that you report your income every year. Various conditions may be attached, for example the following.

• If reported income rises by more than 30% compared with the initial filing, the repayment is recalculated to reflect the increase.
• You are required to report your own and your spouse's assets every year.

Such a conditional confirmation can be a burden throughout the rehabilitation procedure.

How to obtain confirmation without conditions

To obtain confirmation without conditions, above all you need to sufficiently prove a steady income. The more stable income you can prove, the higher your chance of avoiding conditional confirmation, which also greatly helps you complete personal rehabilitation to the end.

While checking how the 2026 increase in minimum living expenses changes your monthly repayment, prepare proof of income in advance, such as pay statements and records of salary deposits.

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Last reviewed: 2026-10-19 This article provides general legal information; specific advice is given through consultation.