Gwangju Seo-gu Provides Childcare Support of 200,000 Won per Person to Teen Parents

Published 11 Jul.2023 13:53(KST)

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) has decided to expand child-rearing support for adolescent parents (aged 24 and under) who are experiencing economic difficulties.

According to Seo-gu on the 11th, since July last year, the government has been providing child-rearing expenses of 200,000 KRW per child per month to families with a median income of 60% or less (2.66 million KRW for a three-person household) to support adolescent parents who are struggling to balance childcare, livelihood maintenance, and self-reliance activities.

Seogu District Office building. [Photo by Seogu]

In response, Seo-gu has become the first local government in Gwangju and Jeonnam to provide child-rearing expenses to adolescent parents whose household income is above 60% but within 100% of the median income, who were excluded from government support.

Due to the limitations of the system, adolescent parents who do not work and raise their children with the help of their own parents meet the government support criteria and receive assistance, but adolescent parents who take on economic responsibility themselves and work are excluded from support due to exceeding earned income limits.

To address this, Seo-gu signed a public-private neighborly love agreement on the same day with the Kwon Dongsik Aventino Foundation, a social welfare corporation, to promote the ‘Youth Parents Raising Children Together Project.’

Seo-gu will be responsible for discovering eligible recipients, monitoring, and overall administrative support including allowance payments, while the Kwon Dongsik Aventino Foundation will provide sponsorship funds of 200,000 KRW per child per month to adolescent parents.

Kim Ikang, Mayor of Seo-gu, said, “Adolescent parents who experience pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing during a time when they are preparing for their future are both caregivers and individuals in need of protection and growth,” adding, “Through the Seo-gu type youth care allowance, we will spare no effort to support them in raising their children in a more stable environment.”