Gumi City to Give More Preferential Treatment to Public Officials for 'Childbirth and Multi-Child Parenting'

Special Measures Including Additional Points for Childbirth Performance

Implementation of Promotion and Commendation Preference Policy for Employees with Multiple Children

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gumi City, Gyeongbuk Province, has introduced special measures to increase the birth rate among public officials and create a workplace culture conducive to childcare in an era of low birth rates.

Gumi City Hall.

On the 21st, the city announced a strategy for the public sector to take the lead in boosting the birth rate and regional population growth by providing various benefits in personnel, service, and welfare to public officials who give birth or raise multiple children.

Personnel benefits include additional points in work performance evaluations (0.5 points per child, up to 2.0 points) for childbirth, preferential promotion for employees raising three or more children (within 20% of the promotion quota), and priority recommendation for exemplary and outstanding public official awards in recognition of contributions to overcoming low birth rates and encouraging childbirth.

To prepare for unavoidable situations where employees need to care for young preschool children, the scope of the ‘Childcare Leave’ will be significantly expanded.

The existing childcare leave, granted when employees with children under 2 years old have exhausted all annual leave, will be changed to allow employees with children under 7 years old to receive additional childcare leave (up to 3 days) after using their recommended annual leave. Furthermore, when applying for parental leave or switching to part-time work (15 to 25 hours per week) to care for elementary school children, replacement personnel will be promptly hired to reduce the workload on colleagues, ensuring sufficient use of related systems.

To alleviate the increasing economic burden on public officials facing infertility and support healthy childbirth, 500,000 won in welfare points will be additionally provided upon infertility diagnosis to assist with treatment. Welfare points, previously given only for the birth of a third or subsequent child, will be expanded to the first child, and family-friendly cultural experience activity expenses (up to 200,000 won) will be preferentially supported for employees raising two or more children. Welfare support measures will also be expanded and implemented.

Accordingly, the city plans to amend the ‘Gumi City Local Public Officials Evaluation Regulations’ and the ‘Gumi City Local Public Officials Service Ordinance.’ The childcare leave will be implemented from the second half of this year, while the performance evaluation bonus points for childbirth and preferential promotion system, which require a one-year grace period, will be applied starting March next year.

For reference, among the approximately 1,800 public officials below grade 5 in Gumi City, 103 employees are raising multiple children (three or more): 23 in grade 5, 48 in grade 6, and 32 below grade 7.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho said, “We will continue to strive to establish systems that link birth rates with job satisfaction and growth rates, and we plan to implement various support policies to create a childbirth- and childcare-friendly public service environment in the future.”

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