Gangjin-gun Expands Postpartum Care Cost Support

Create the Best Areas for Having and Raising Children to Increase Birth Rates

[Gangjin=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su] Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will expand the usage fees and postpartum care support for public postpartum care centers starting in 2023 to create a better environment for having and raising children.

To promote maternal health and increase birth rates, the usage fee support, which was previously provided only to users of Jeollanam-do public postpartum care centers, will be expanded to all users of public postpartum care centers. Additionally, postpartum care expenses will be newly established and supported for mothers who do not use public postpartum care centers.

Until now, Gangjin-gun has supported mothers using Jeollanam-do public postpartum care centers with 70% of the usage fee for mothers giving birth to a second child or more, returning farmers/residents, and multicultural families, and 30% for mothers giving birth to their first child.

From 2023, if either the father or mother is registered as a resident in Gangjin-gun and the birth is reported in Gangjin-gun based on the birth date, 1.54 million KRW will be supported for two weeks of usage at any public postpartum care center nationwide, regardless of income.

For Jeollanam-do public postpartum care centers, this amount covers full two-week usage free of charge. Mothers who do not use public postpartum care centers will receive 1 million KRW in postpartum care expenses paid in local currency.

To provide this support, Gangjin-gun applied for social security consultation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare last month and recently received final notification of consultation completion, proceeding with procedures such as revising the enforcement regulations of the Basic Ordinance on Population Policy.

It is expected that expanding postpartum care cost support will reduce the economic burden caused by childbirth, foster a child-rearing friendly atmosphere, and lead to an increase in birth rates.

Gangjin-gun has set the goal of building Gangjin as a region with increasing population and jobs during the 8th term of the local government, actively implementing population policies such as paying the highest childcare allowance nationwide. As part of this, creating a childbirth-friendly environment has been set as one of the 60 core projects, and the expansion of postpartum care cost support is being promoted rapidly.

Additionally, various projects are underway to support maternal and newborn health, including the First Meeting Voucher support project that provides 2 million KRW in National Happiness Card points upon birth registration, the Maternal and Newborn Health Care Worker support project that subsidizes postpartum helper fees, diaper and formula support for low-income families, the Nutrition Plus support project that helps manage the health of pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and infants under 66 months, and the rental of blood pressure and blood sugar monitors for high-risk mothers.

Gangjin-gun Mayor Gang Jin-won said, “We aim to make Gangjin the best place in the country to have and raise children by helping families raise their children from birth to high school graduation without economic burden,” adding, “Population extinction is not just a local issue but can lead to a national extinction crisis, so we will take a leading role in responding to the population crisis by discovering various policies.”

Gangjin=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-su gabrielw@asiae.co.kr

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