(123rf) South Korea will ease income-based restrictions on benefits for married couples to encourage marriage among young people.The government unveiled a package of marriage-friendly policy reforms at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on Tuesday.Officials said the measures were prompted by a growing number of unmarried people and an increase in couples delaying marriage registration for more than a year.The government believes the loss of various benefits after marriage has become a key factor behind the delayed registrations and plans to revise the related policies.Under the plan, the government will expand access to public rental housing for newly married couples. Income thresholds for newlyweds seeking public rental housing will be raised to roughly twice those applied to single-person households.The government will also reduce the additional interest rate charged on state-backed jeonse loans for borrowers whose combined household income exceeds eligibility thresholds after marriage. Jeonse is Korea’s lump-sum rental system in which tenants pay a large deposit instead of monthly rent.In addition, income requirements for a state-backed savings account will be eased for two-person households in an effort to help newly married couples build assets.Measures that do not require law revisions will take effect this month, while reforms requiring legislative amendments will be pursued in the second half of this year, the government said.