Pohang City Expands Support Eligibility for Multi-Child Families to '2 or More Children'!

Pohang City is partially amending the "Pohang City Population Policy Basic Ordinance," which serves as the standard for population policies, to expand support for multi-child families in order to overcome low birth rates.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang visiting a local children's center last February.

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The number of births in Pohang has been on a declining trend, from 4,604 in 2015 to 2,461 in 2020, and 2,086 in 2023. As the proportion of married couples having only one child rather than two or more has significantly increased, the need to expand support for multi-child families has been consistently raised.

Accordingly, the city clarified the definition of multi-child families, which had varied by age and number of children across individual ordinances, to prevent confusion among citizens and expand support. Through the amendment of the "Pohang City Population Policy Basic Ordinance," a new definition of multi-child families was established as "households that have given birth to or adopted two or more children and are raising children under the age of 19."

Going forward, it is expected that about 20,000 additional households will benefit through follow-up measures to amend related individual ordinances to support multi-child families.

Considering the increasing financial burden due to the expanded support targets, the city plans to create an environment favorable to multi-child families by revising 17 individual ordinances in phases over time.

First, this year, 12 projects involving fee reductions for various public facilities with relatively low financial burden but high citizen impact will be prioritized. These include facilities operated by the Pohang City Facilities Management Corporation, Pohang City Theater Company, National Leisure Camping Site, Toy Library, and Ainuri Kids Cafe.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, "With the clear establishment of criteria for multi-child families in this low birth rate era, more families in the region will receive practical support and be able to reduce the burden of child-rearing. We will continue to strive to create a city that is good for raising children by discovering various support policies to overcome low birth rates."

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