Families with Two Children Also Considered 'Dadungi'... Ministry of Education to Expand Support for Multi-Child Households

Relaxation of Multi-Child Household Support Criteria
Exemption Benefits for 'Dadungi' and Promotion of Care Services and Education Support for Two-Child Families

The criteria for multi-child benefits provided by the central government and local governments will be relaxed from three children to two children. Accordingly, families with two children will also be eligible for benefits such as special supply of public sale housing for multi-child families and exemption from automobile acquisition tax.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Education held the 7th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting at the Government Seoul Office to discuss the "Promotion and Improvement Directions of Support Policies for Multi-Child Families." Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, stated, "Central ministries and local governments have made significant efforts to expand support for multi-child families," adding, "To ensure that these policy efforts effectively reduce the childcare burden faced by multi-child families, related ministries have collaborated under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs to reorganize support policies for multi-child families."

This decision takes into account the recent intensification of the low birthrate phenomenon. The Ministry of Education explained, "The number of births in multi-child families is decreasing faster than the total number of births," noting, "In 2021, the number of births decreased by 4.3% compared to the previous year, and births of second and subsequent children decreased by 4.8%."

The Ministry of Education plans to relax the support criteria for multi-child families from three or more children to two children and expand support policies related to childcare, education, and housing. The central government and local governments are currently operating additional support projects and systems to reduce the housing, living, and childcare burdens of multi-child families in line with the "Policy Directions for Low Birthrate and Aging Society" announced by the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy in March this year.

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Accordingly, the special supply criteria for public sale housing for multi-child families will also be relaxed to two children, and relaxation for private housing will be considered. Appropriate supply area standards considering the number of household members will also be established. The exemption and reduction criteria for automobile acquisition tax will be reviewed for relaxation to two children. However, opinions from local governments will be collected considering the impact on local tax revenues.

The discount criteria for cultural facility use for multi-child families will also be unified to two children. The multi-child criteria will be standardized to two children in local government ordinances and major support policies as well.

Measures to expand support for multi-child families will also be applied. Priority will be given to including multi-child families as eligible for elementary after-school care classrooms, and support for childcare services will be expanded. Education expenses for elementary, middle, and high school students will also be increased focusing on the two or more children criterion.

The Ministry of Education plans to implement these measures step-by-step from this year through 2025 in collaboration with related ministries.