Change in multi-child criteria from three children to two children
Women-only parking changed to women and multi-child family parking
The People Power Party has pledged to abolish income criteria for housing support for engaged couples, newlyweds, and families with children to address the low birthrate issue. They also promised to waive university tuition fees for families with three children and convert women-only parking spaces into parking spaces for women and multi-child families.
People Power Party's Han Dong-hoon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman and General Election Countermeasures Committee Chairman, is speaking at the Seoul On-site Central Election Countermeasures Committee meeting held at the Hanyang University Alumni Hall in Seongdong-gu, Seoul on the 25th. [Photo by Yonhap News]
On the 25th, Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman and overall election campaign committee chairman of the People Power Party, held a central election countermeasure meeting at the Hanyang University Alumni Hall in Seoul and stated, "Due to the government's income criteria related to marriage, childbirth, and child-rearing, dual-income couples are excluded from support or even avoid marriage to receive government assistance." He added, "In an era when we should be supporting dual-income couples, discriminating against them is not a desirable policy." He further said, "We will also abolish income criteria for essential policies such as infertility support and childcare services." The plan is to abolish income criteria for major housing support policies such as Didimdol, Buteemok, and special loans for newborns, seeking ways to provide benefits to everyone without discrimination. Regarding infertility support, which has been transferred to local government projects resulting in varying income criteria and benefits across regions, the party promised to revert it to a central government project and abolish income criteria to provide equal support to all.
The multi-child criteria will also be uniformly changed from the current three children to two children. Currently, electricity, city gas, and district heating fee reductions for multi-child households apply only to families with up to three children. Chairman Han said, "As the total fertility rate indicates, it is difficult to even have one child, so it is time to uniformly set the multi-child criteria to two children." He added, "The People Power Party will expand electricity, city gas, and district heating fee reductions, which currently support only families with three or more children, to families with two children." Furthermore, he said, "We will also expand multi-child support linked to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's multi-child card to include public transportation and agricultural product discounts."
However, the pledge to waive full university tuition fees regardless of income will initially apply only to families with three or more children. In this case, the number of beneficiaries is estimated at 340,000, with a budget of 1.45 trillion won. On the same day, Hong Seok-cheol, the People Power Party's special committee chairman for disparity resolution, said in a briefing, "This policy clearly conveys the message that the state takes responsibility for children up to university and puts it into practice." He added, "We believe it will greatly contribute to creating a culture where having three or more children is acceptable."
The criteria for personal deductions will also be strengthened. The age for income tax dependent deductions will be raised from the current 20 to 23 years, and the child tax credit will be increased uniformly to 300,000 won for all children. Chairman Hong said, "We will expand year-end tax settlement personal deductions to reflect reality," adding, "Support from parents is important for university students and young adults starting their careers."
They also plan to push for a legal amendment to mandate flexible working hours for parents during the childcare period. This is to emphasize once again the mandatory specification of flexible working rules during childcare, which the People Power Party promised as their first pledge. Chairman Han said, "To raise children well and prevent career interruptions, it is important to have an environment where flexible work is possible during childcare." He promised, "We will push for a legal amendment to mandate the implementation of flexible working hours, which have high demand from parents and low burden on companies."
They also revealed plans to convert women-only parking spaces into parking spaces for women and multi-child families. Currently, Seoul City is creating family consideration parking spaces through ordinance amendments, and cities such as Busan, Gangneung, and Gwangju are pursuing similar policies. Chairman Hong responded to criticisms that women-only parking spaces serve crime prevention purposes by saying, "The socially considerate groups include not only women but also multi-child families and mothers of multi-child families." He added, "Changing to women and multi-child parking spaces does not mean removing consideration for women; this pledge is prepared from the perspective of considering families."
Chairman Hong stated, "Since the general election is approaching, we are not at the stage of setting party-government schedules solely for this policy," and added, "I think we should consult with the government as soon as possible."
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