Overcoming Ultra-Low Birthrate: 'Birth Allowance' Expanded and Improved Until School Age
100,000 KRW Monthly Support for 18 Years... Additional 100,000 KRW from Each City and County
Jeonnam Province and 22 cities and counties have jointly responded to overcome the ultra-low birthrate situation that threatens not only local extinction but also the extinction of South Korea.
The province announced on the 14th that it will introduce a ‘birth allowance’ that innovatively expands and improves the childcare support system up to school age, providing 100,000 KRW monthly for 18 years. The cities and counties also plan to participate together.
Governor Kim Young-rok of Jeonnam Province and the 22 mayors and county heads signed a joint agreement to promote the birth allowance on the same day. The birth allowance support is a new form of support model where the local community shares responsibility from birth to childcare.
According to the agreement, the province will support newborns in Jeonnam born after 2024 with a birth allowance of 100,000 KRW per month for 18 years until they turn 17, regardless of income conditions, under the vision of ‘Happy Jeonnam, good for having and raising children.’
The cities and counties also plan to provide a birth allowance of 100,000 KRW monthly to newborns born in their respective areas.
Since the first occurrence of a death cross in 2013, when the number of deaths exceeded births, the number of births has decreased by 48.8% over the past 10 years, predicting Jeonnam as the top local extinction risk area nationwide. Therefore, Jeonnam Province and the cities and counties have taken joint action.
In fact, Statistics Korea forecasts that if the current population trend continues, Jeonnam’s population will decline to the 1.6 million range by 2030 and to 1.5 million by 2043.
Nationally, the total fertility rate in 2022 was 0.78, the lowest in the world, and the only OECD member country with a total fertility rate below 1.0.
Accordingly, although the government invested about 380 trillion KRW over 18 years until last year to respond to low birthrates, direct cash support that residents can feel is insufficient, and this support has been concentrated on infants and toddlers aged 0 to 7, leaving practical support for school-age child-rearing severely lacking.
Given this situation, Jeonnam Province and the cities and counties share the recognition that ‘population equals national competitiveness’ and have taken out an innovative card to break the ultra-low birthrate trend.
Reflecting the actual needs of residents and experts regarding childcare and education expenses for families with children, the plan is to provide ▲ to all newborns in Jeonnam regardless of income ▲ for 18 years until age 17 (the national government supports for 8 years) ▲ a monthly allowance of 100,000 KRW from the province and 100,000 KRW from the cities and counties.
The support target is all children whose parents both have resident registration in Jeonnam and who are registered as born in Jeonnam in 2024.
If receiving both provincial and city/county birth allowances, the total support per child over 18 years will reach 43.2 million KRW. Families with two children can receive 86 million KRW, and families with three children up to 130 million KRW, significantly reducing the actual childcare burden.
Including all national selective welfare benefits, in Jeonnam’s case, one child can receive a total of 115.2 million KRW in support, which is the highest level nationwide.
The province plans to implement the system as soon as possible through prior administrative procedures such as social security system arrangements and securing the budget.
Additionally, to alleviate housing burdens for youth and newlyweds, Jeonnam is promoting the supply of ‘Jeonnam-type 10,000 KRW housing,’ the first at the metropolitan level. The province will continue to discover policies that residents can feel, minimize childcare gaps, and devote all efforts to making Jeonnam a happy place for both children and parents.
Governor Kim Young-rok said, “To overcome the prolonged ultra-low birthrate situation, the province and cities/counties will implement childbirth and childcare policies that they nurture together,” adding, “Jeonnam Province and cities/counties’ birth allowance will complement the blind spots of fragmented government policies and serve as a signal to the government to propose a national responsibility system for childbirth and childcare.”
Jeonnam Province also plans to continuously propose to the central government measures to overcome the ultra-low birthrate crisis and prevent local extinction, including ▲ establishing a national birth allowance and providing 200,000 KRW monthly until age 17 ▲ expanding child allowance payments up to age 12 ▲ establishing an Immigration and Foreigners Management Office in Jeonnam.
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