Gwangju Region's Birth Rate Increases for 5 Consecutive Months...The Only One Among All Cities and Provinces Nationwide

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The number of newborns in Gwangju Metropolitan City has increased for five consecutive months from January to May this year. It is the only city among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces to show such an increase.

The birth rate in Gwangju, which had been continuously declining since 2015, has shifted to an upward trend this year. This is analyzed to be not a temporary phenomenon but the result of the aggressive implementation of the "MOM-friendly Gwangju, a city good for having and raising children" policy by Gwangju City.

According to the "May Population Trends" announced by Statistics Korea on the 28th, the number of newborns in Gwangju in May was 683, an increase of 79 (13.1%) compared to the same month last year.

Accordingly, the cumulative number of newborns this year was 3,451, an increase of 265 (8.3%) compared to the same period last year.

While the number of newborns nationwide continues to decline, with 22,052 newborns in May, down 809 (-3.5%) compared to the same month last year, Gwangju is the only city showing a continuous increase for five consecutive months, drawing attention.

The annual number of newborns in Gwangju turned to a decline starting in 2015, dropping below 10,000 for the first time in 2018 to 9,105. The total fertility rate also decreased to 0.97, below one child, leading to a severe low birthrate and rapid population decline, putting the city at risk of a population cliff.

In response, Gwangju City has been promoting the "MOM-friendly Gwangju, a city good for having and raising children" policy since July 2019 to overcome the low birthrate.

Currently, 28 lifecycle support policies are being implemented across six stages: meeting, marriage, pregnancy, birth, childcare, and work-life balance.

Among these, the "24-hour Emergency Childcare Center," operated to alleviate the childcare difficulties of dual-income families, recorded 288 cases and 1,960 hours of use in the first half of this year, already exceeding last year's total of 180 cases and 1,401 hours.

The inpatient child care service, the first of its kind in a special/metropolitan city, also saw 1,940 cases and 6,727 hours of use in the first half of the year, significantly surpassing last year's 1,841 cases and 6,298 hours.

Since last year, through Gwangju's additional support for infertility treatment costs (up to four times per year), support for traditional Korean medicine infertility treatment costs, self-help groups for infertile couples, and health programs, 953 infertile couples have successfully conceived by the first half of this year.

In particular, through the Gwangju Birth and Childcare Allowance, introduced for the first time this year in a special/metropolitan city, a birth congratulatory payment of 1 million KRW is given per newborn to households residing in Gwangju for more than three months, and a childcare allowance of 200,000 KRW per month is provided until the child reaches 24 months of age.

As of July, a total of 22.983 billion KRW has been paid to 98,251 people, including 4,167 recipients of the birth congratulatory payment and 94,084 recipients of the childcare allowance.

Additionally, support policies for newlyweds and pregnant women have been expanded, including the Happy Plus Health Support for health checkups for couples before the first pregnancy, interest support for rental deposits for newlyweds to stabilize housing, and the Gwangju-style postpartum care public service where Happy i Mom health nurses support postpartum health care for pregnant women and newborns, strengthening support policies at the marriage and pregnancy stages.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju said, "We will continue to expand MOM-friendly Gwangju and pregnancy and birth support policies to realize a sustainable Gwangju where all births are respected," adding, "In the second half of the year, we will implement a last-month household care service for pregnant women to alleviate their difficulties."