Hwaseong Mayor Jung Myunggeun: "Step-by-Step Low Birthrate Strategy Is the Key to Leading in Number of Newborns"

Introducing the "Hwaseong-type Basic Care Policy"
at the National Assembly "Legislative Expo"

Jung Myunggeun, mayor of Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province, cited a "step-by-step customized strategy to overcome low birth rates" as the key reason for Hwaseong ranking first in the nation for the number of newborns for two consecutive years.

On the 24th, Mayor Jung introduced the "Hwaseong-type Basic Care Policy" at the "Policy Presentation for the Realization of a Basic Society by Local Governments" held at the National Assembly.

Jung Myunggeun, mayor of Hwaseong City, is introducing the "Hwaseong-type Basic Care" policy at the legislative expo seminar held at the National Assembly on the 24th. Provided by Hwaseong City

This presentation was held as a specialized seminar of the "2025 Legislative Expo," hosted by the National Assembly Basic Society Forum, a parliamentary research group. During the seminar, legislative and policy alternatives for realizing a basic society were discussed by both the National Assembly and local governments. Mayor Jung participated as a presenter, sharing Hwaseong City's best practices in the field of care services.

Last year, Hwaseong City recorded 7,200 newborns, the highest number among all basic local governments nationwide. The total fertility rate was also the highest among the five special cities at 1.01, and with an average age of 39.7, Hwaseong was recognized as the youngest city in the country.

Mayor Jung attributed these achievements to the "step-by-step customized strategy to overcome low birth rates." He explained that this year, the city is investing 427 billion won in 75 related projects, providing tailored support throughout the life cycle-from marriage to pregnancy, childbirth, and childrearing-to address the population crisis.

One representative initiative is the "Yeonjigonji Account," a matching savings account for newlyweds introduced for the first time in the country. Under this program, if newlyweds save 300,000 won each month, the city matches with an additional 90,000 won, enabling couples to accumulate up to 9.36 million won over two years.

Various support measures are also being implemented during the pregnancy and childbirth stages. The city provides 12 types of health checkups for engaged and newly married couples and supports up to 1.8 million won in treatment costs for couples experiencing infertility. Notably, as a special city, Hwaseong is the first to offer support for basic and late-term maternal exams as well as congenital anomaly screening, and provides childbirth grants ranging from 1 million to 3 million won in cash, depending on the number of children born.

The city is also actively investing in infrastructure to address childcare gaps. Hwaseong operates 157 public daycare centers-the most in the country-and is expanding the number of community childcare centers to 44 by 2030.

During his presentation, Mayor Jung also referenced the "drowning mouse experiment" conducted by Johns Hopkins University in the United States. He explained that, just as a mouse rescued from drowning was able to endure longer when faced with a similar situation again, hope can have a remarkable impact.

Mayor Jung emphasized, "Those who have hope can overcome any difficulty," adding, "When small acts of helping and sharing hope come together, we can build a warmer and happier society for everyone."

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