From next year, 700,000 won per month at the age of 0 and 350,000 won at the age of 1 will be paid as ‘Parents’ Benefit’

The Korean government has decided to pay 700,000 won per month for families with 0-year-old children and 350,000 won per month for families raising 1-year-old children from next year.

Part-time childcare and childcare services will be expanded, and the number of national and public daycare centers will increase by 500 a year by 2027.

It is an effort to make a good country for raising children in Korea, where the birth rate is severely low.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea announced the ‘4th Mid- to Long-term Child Care Basic Plan (2023-2027)’ with these contents at its core.

According to this plan, a parental benefit will be introduced from January 1 next year to supplement family income for the first one to two years after childbirth. Currently, an infant allowance of 300,000 won (500,000 won when using facilities) is paid to families with children aged 0 and 1.

In January of next year, 700,000 won per month will be paid to families raising children under the age of 0, and by 2024, this will be expanded to 1 million won per month. In Case of a 1-year-old child, they say they will pay 350,000 won per month next year and 500,000 won per month in 2024.

This measure contains the will to induce parents to choose childbirth and childrearing by providing income support to families in the early stages of childbirth.

Along with parental benefits, the government has also decided to expand the childcare support system. We decided to increase the childcare service from 3 hours and 30 minutes to 4 hours a day starting next year.

It is said that daycare centers and comprehensive childcare support centers will be able to provide customized parenting information, and a linkage system will be established between institutions so that developmental delays in infants and toddlers can be detected and treated early.

Just as foreigners have no choice but to play an important role in Korea's population decline, I think the same is true for the low birth rate. It is necessary to grant the same or similar childcare welfare benefits to foreigners residing in Korea.

Even if it is a foreigner, where would the children living in Korea go? Even if they go back to their home country later, there is a high possibility that those children will stay in Korea or do something related to Korea.

The Korean government needs to have a forward-looking attitude toward foreigners in its low birth rate and childcare welfare policies.