"Unable to Apply for Child Allowance Due to Incorrect Guidance"... Payment Recommended to Local Governments

Application Possible Even Without Birth Registration

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 15th that it recommended the relevant local government to pay child allowance retroactively from the date of childbirth to a woman who was unable to apply for the child allowance due to incorrect guidance from a public official.

Kim Tae-gyu, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Ms. A gave birth to a child out of wedlock last year and did not register the birth initially but applied for childcare welfare services. The public official informed her that the child allowance would only be paid if the birth was registered. Ms. A registered the birth and applied for the child allowance six months after childbirth. The local government notified her that the child allowance would only be paid from the month of application and that the six months’ worth of child allowance from the date of birth could not be paid.

According to the investigation by the Commission, the guidelines were revised last year to allow child allowance for children born without birth registration, but the public official was unaware of this fact. Therefore, the Commission recommended corrective action to pay Ms. A six months’ worth of child allowance retroactively from the date of birth.

Kim Taegyu, Vice Chairman of the Commission, said, “This decision is a case of remedying the damage to a citizen who was unable to receive welfare benefits due to incorrect guidance by a public official,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to resolve grievances so that public officials can responsibly perform their duties as servants to all citizens.”