Incheon City to Provide 'Parent Allowance' for Children Aged 0-1 from Next Year... Expansion and Reform of Infant Allowance

Expansion to 1 Million KRW per Month for Age 0 and 500,000 KRW per Month for Age 1 in 2024

Incheon City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City will introduce the 'Parent Allowance,' a government national agenda and Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok's pledge, starting next year.

The city announced on the 2nd that it will reorganize the existing 'Infant Allowance' into the Parent Allowance from next year and provide differentiated support for parents based on the age of children aged 0 to 1.

The Infant Allowance, first implemented this year, is a program that provides 300,000 KRW per month if children born this year do not use daycare centers or childcare services.

From next year, this will be expanded and reorganized into the Parent Allowance, providing 700,000 KRW per month for children aged 0 and 350,000 KRW per month for children aged 1. Additionally, in 2024, the Parent Allowance plans to increase to 1,000,000 KRW per month for 0-year-olds and 500,000 KRW per month for 1-year-olds.

While the Infant Allowance limited support to infants born after January 1 this year, the Parent Allowance will be applied retroactively based on the child's age in months regardless of birth year.

For example, if a child was born in August this year, from January to August next year, they will be considered 0 years old and receive 700,000 KRW per month, and from September, they will be considered 1 year old and receive 350,000 KRW per month.

The number of children eligible for the Parent Allowance next year, aged 1 or younger, is expected to be about 17,500, with a total project cost of 141.7 billion KRW from national and local funds. The Parent Allowance will be paid to the designated account by the 25th of each month, starting from the month of application if applied before the 15th, or from the following month if applied after the 15th.

Children currently receiving the Infant Allowance will have their eligibility automatically updated through the Next Generation Social Security Information System without a separate reapplication, and for children born next year, the Parent Allowance can be applied for simultaneously when registering the birth through the 'Happy Birth One-Stop Service.'

With the introduction of the Parent Allowance, infants born in January next year will receive a total annual support of 11.6 million KRW, combining the Parent Allowance of 700,000 KRW per month, the First Meeting Voucher of 2 million KRW, and the Child Allowance of 100,000 KRW per month.

Park Myung-sook, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of Incheon City, said, "Expanding the Infant Allowance to the Parent Allowance from next year will not only ensure concentrated care within the family during infancy but also guarantee income lost due to childbirth and parenting, thereby reducing the parenting burden on parents."

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