Gwangju Low Birthrate Countermeasure Budget Decreases by 7.4 Billion Won Compared to This Year

City Councilor Park Mijeong: "Pregnancy and Childbirth Burdens Must Be Alleviated"
Criticizing Narrow Perspectives and Lack of Flexibility in Low Birthrate Solutions

Park Mi-jung, Gwangju City Council member.

The budget for Gwangju City's low birthrate countermeasures next year is 284.5 billion KRW, which is 7.4 billion KRW less than this year.

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party, Dong-gu 2), pointed out during the main budget review of the Women's and Family Bureau on the 2nd that "due to the decrease in the number of births, tens of billions of won in low birthrate budgets such as child allowance and first meeting usage vouchers have been reduced," and emphasized that "Gwangju City needs to respond to the low birthrate issue with a broad policy perspective."

According to the budget proposal submitted by the city, compared to this year, there is a decrease of 16.3 billion KRW including △child allowance by 7.8 billion KRW △first meeting usage vouchers by 2.8 billion KRW △support for necessary expenses of daycare centers by 1.2 billion KRW △support for fertility freezing procedures by 20 million KRW.

Councilor Park criticized, "The demand for fertility freezing is a result of social phenomena such as the anxiety of the MZ generation about the future and late marriage and childbirth. However, due to a narrow perspective at the detailed project level and lack of policy flexibility, the related budget has rather decreased."

In 2023, the average age at first marriage in South Korea is gradually increasing, with women at 31.45 years and men at 33.97 years. Accordingly, the aging of mothers, including an increase in first-time mothers over 40, is becoming a serious issue.

In the past three years (2021?2023), the number of infertility treatment support cases in the Gwangju area reached 10,588. During the same period, the number of births in the region was only 21,575. This highlights the deepening concerns of the MZ generation.

Park said, "We need policy flexibility that addresses the anxieties and demands of the MZ generation, rather than just looking at the perspectives or numbers of the older generation."

As part of low birthrate countermeasures, Gwangju City increased the budget by 8.9 billion KRW, including 3 billion KRW for the newly introduced Birth Family Celebration Win-Win Card support, 3.8 billion KRW for childcare services, and 70 million KRW for interest loans on newlywed couple rental deposits.

Park emphasized, "Regarding the new Birth Family Celebration Win-Win Card support project, I understand that the central government is negative about support for zero-year-olds. This is a desk-bound administration that does not face the reality of low birthrates, and support from zero years old is absolutely necessary."

The Birth Family Celebration Win-Win Card support will provide a 500,000 KRW win-win card to families registering births from January 1 next year. In the case of multiple births, support will be provided according to the number of newborns to reduce childcare costs.

Park reiterated, "In a country where giving birth to a child costs hundreds of thousands to millions of won, it is perhaps natural to give up on having a second or third child. We must alleviate economic burdens and childcare difficulties from early pregnancy and from the first child."

She also urged, "Along with demands for institutional improvements to the central government, please also strive to secure alternative budgets such as establishing a tripartite system of work, family, and care to compensate for the reduced budget."

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