Gwangju-Type Birth Promotion Policy 'A Great Sign for Gwangju as a Good Place to Have and Raise Children'

Poetry, 6-Stage Lifecycle Support Policy with 28 Detailed Tasks Implemented

Over 81,000 Birth and Childcare Allowances Paid in First Half, Totaling About 19.1 Billion KRW

Birth Rate from January to April Up 7.2% Year-on-Year, National Averag

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City has been aggressively promoting childbirth encouragement policies, and it has been revealed that the actual birth rate is increasing.

According to Gwangju City on the 25th, the city is implementing 28 lifecycle support policies across six stages?meeting, marriage, pregnancy, birth, childcare, and work-life balance?under the policy “Gwangju, a Mom (MOM)-Friendly City Good for Having and Raising Children.”

Analyzing the performance of these policies in the first half of this year, the “24-hour Emergency Childcare Center,” operated to alleviate the difficulties of dual-income families, recorded 288 cases and 1,960 hours of use in the first half alone, already exceeding last year’s 180 cases and 1,401 hours.

The Emergency Childcare Center is a policy that provides 24-hour nighttime care and childcare programs for infants aged 6 months to preschool age.

The inpatient child care service, first implemented among special metropolitan cities in November 2019, also showed high satisfaction, with 1,940 cases and 6,727 hours of use in the first half of this year, greatly exceeding last year’s 1,841 cases and 6,298 hours.

This service is a public service project that dispatches trained inpatient child caregivers to look after hospitalized children when there is no guardian available due to dual-income families, providing medication assistance, meals, reading, and other care.

Any child aged 3 months to 12 years residing in Gwangju can use this service, which provides a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 12 hours per day. The service costs 14,000 KRW per hour, but users pay only 1,400 to 4,200 KRW per hour depending on income, with the city subsidizing 70-90%. It can be used for up to 150 hours annually.

The support for both Western and Korean medicine treatments for infertile couples, started last year to give hope to couples facing economic and psychological difficulties, is also showing results.

The number of successful pregnancies through infertility treatment support reached 629 cases last year and 295 cases in the first half of this year, totaling 924 cases.

The Gwangju-type infertility treatment support targets infertile women who have lived in Gwangju for more than one year and have exhausted all health insurance-covered infertility treatments. It provides up to four treatments per year, with support ranging from 200,000 to 1.5 million KRW per treatment, varying by income and treatment type.

Additional support extends to those exceeding 180% of the median income after government support programs end, and treatments at medical institutions outside the region are also eligible, making this a highly satisfactory program for infertile couples.

The Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance, introduced and promoted for the first time among special metropolitan cities this year, has also significantly increased the number of recipients.

The Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance policy provides a birth congratulatory payment of 1 million KRW per newborn to households residing in Gwangju for more than three months, and a monthly childcare allowance of 200,000 KRW until the child reaches 24 months of age.

As of June 25, a total of 19.128 billion KRW has been paid to 81,839 recipients, including 3,451 birth congratulatory payments and 78,388 childcare allowances.

Thanks to these policies, the birth rate in Gwangju, which had been declining for a long time, has turned to an upward trend.

From January to April this year, 2,769 babies were born in Gwangju, an increase of 186 (7.2%) compared to 2,583 in the same period last year. During the same period, the national average birth rate decreased by 3.7%.

Additionally, the “Gwangju-type Postpartum Care Public Service,” which dispatches postpartum health managers to support the health of mothers and newborns, and the “Gwangju Childcare Jeonse Loan Interest Support Project” to alleviate housing burdens for newlyweds, launched in July, are expected to further contribute to the increase in birth rates.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju said, “If we fail to overcome the population cliff caused by ultra-low birth rates, the sustainability of the city cannot be secured. Gwangju will focus administrative power on fostering future food industries represented by the Gwangju-type 3 Major New Deals, while also creating an environment where the sound of children’s laughter never ceases, making it a city good for having and raising children.”