Gangnam-gu, Up to 1.1 Million Support Following Infertility Support Regulation Abolition

Gangnam-gu Abolishes Infertility Support Regulations and Allocates Additional 2 Billion KRW Budget

Supports up to 1.1 million KRW for up to 22 procedures including IVF and artificial insemination for all infertile couples

Professional lactation managers visit homes to provide breastfeeding support for mothers in need

Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) will invest a total of over 2.5 billion KRW this year to support infertile couples in accordance with the expanded infertility support policy implemented from July to overcome the low birthrate crisis and ease the economic burden on infertile families.

Previously, infertility procedure support was divided into national and Seoul types. The government supported infertile couples with health insurance coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) (9 fresh embryo cycles, 7 frozen embryo cycles) and artificial insemination (5 cycles). For those who exhausted the health insurance coverage for fresh embryo IVF cycles, Seoul City provided 1 additional cycle with 1.8 million KRW support. Gangnam-gu allocated its own budget to provide an additional 1 million KRW support for one more cycle to infertile couples who had exhausted the Seoul-type support cycles.

However, from July, this segmented support and procedure count limit were removed, and according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare guidelines, individuals can receive their desired procedures within a total of 22 cycles.

Additionally, the previous income restriction that only supported households earning less than 180% of the median income has been abolished, and support is now provided regardless of income.

Accordingly, the district supports all infertile couples who have resided in the area for more than six months with up to 1.1 million KRW per IVF or artificial insemination procedure. The existing additional 1 cycle support by Gangnam-gu is also maintained. The district has allocated an additional 2 billion KRW budget in addition to the existing 500 million KRW infertility support budget, totaling over 2.5 billion KRW in support this year.

Last year, 2,001 people were diagnosed with infertility in Gangnam-gu, and 952 infertility procedures were supported.

Furthermore, from July, the district is implementing the ‘Seoul Mom Visiting Happy Breastfeeding Support Project’ for mothers within 8 weeks postpartum. ‘Lactation managers,’ medical professionals who have completed training from the Korea Midwives Association as ‘breastfeeding specialists,’ visit mothers’ homes to provide breastfeeding education, customized massage, breast condition diagnosis, and management guidance.

The education lasts one hour, and each person can receive the service up to twice. Applications can be made through the Seoul Pregnancy and Childbirth Information Center.

Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “Last year, the total fertility rate in Gangnam-gu was 0.49. To overcome the low birthrate, it is necessary to create a birth-friendly environment. We will do our best to promote policies that support the entire process of having and raising children to increase the birthrate.”

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