Gwangju City, First Special/Metropolitan City to Issue 'Gwangju Birth Childcare Allowance'

Payment of 1 Million Won Completed for 229 Newborns in January 2021

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The core policy of Gwangju Metropolitan City’s initiative to create a “Gwangju Good for Having and Raising Children,” the “Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance,” will be paid for the first time.

According to Gwangju City on the 27th, a birth congratulatory payment of 1 million won was first paid to 229 babies born in January 2021, and the childcare allowance of 200,000 won per month until the child reaches 24 months will be paid a total of 24 times, starting with the first payment on the 25th of next month after residency screening this month.

Children born in Gwangju will receive the “Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance,” totaling 5.8 million won per child, including a birth congratulatory payment of 1 million won to reduce burdens such as postpartum care, hospital bills, and purchasing childcare products, and a childcare allowance of 200,000 won per month for 24 months.

Gwangju City decided to implement the payment to practically assist childcare based on the recommendations from the public-private consultative body, the Gwangju TF Team for a Good City to Have and Raise Children, the city’s Innovation Promotion Committee’s recommendation to promote the birth and childcare allowance, and research results from the Childcare Policy Research Institute on insufficient support for childcare costs.

To support this, consultations with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and social security were completed in September last year, the “Gwangju City Birth and Childcare Support Ordinance” was enacted through a proposal by members of the City Environment and Welfare Committee, and a related budget of 40.6 billion won was secured in December last year.

The Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance requires that either the father or mother has resided in Gwangju for more than three months and can be applied for at the local administrative welfare center when registering the birth or moving in.

Gwak Hyun-mi, Director of the City’s Women and Family Bureau, said, “The Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance is an innovative childcare policy first implemented in a special/metropolitan city, minimizing the childcare burden necessary for early child growth and accelerating the creation of a Gwangju that is good for having and raising children.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.