Gyeonggi Province will begin accepting applications for the ‘Gyeonggi-type Family Care Allowance’ starting June 3, which provides 300,000 to 600,000 KRW per month to relatives within the fourth degree of kinship or neighboring residents who care for children aged 24 to under 48 months.
The Gyeonggi-type Family Care Allowance is part of Gyeonggi Province’s flagship welfare policy series, ‘360° Always Care,’ and was confirmed for implementation last December following discussions by the Population Talk Talk Committee.
The program targets South Korean nationals residing in 13 cities and counties including Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Gwangmyeong, Gunpo, Hanam, Guri, Anseong, Pocheon, Yeoju, Dongducheon, Gwacheon, Gapyeong, and Yeoncheon. Both the caregiver (such as parents) and the child (aged 24 to under 48 months) must be registered residents of Gyeonggi Province. There is no income limit, but the household must have a caregiving gap due to reasons such as dual-income parents.
Caregivers who are relatives within the fourth degree of kinship may reside outside the province, but neighbors considered as social family members must live in the same eup, myeon, or dong as the child and must have been Gyeonggi residents at the same address for over one year.
Selected caregivers must register as members on the ‘Gyeonggi Lifelong Learning Portal (GEEK)’ before starting caregiving activities and complete mandatory training on child safety, child abuse prevention, and fraud prevention.
If caregiving is performed for more than 40 hours per month, the allowance is 300,000 KRW per month for one child, 450,000 KRW for two children, and 600,000 KRW for three children. For four or more children, limits are set so that two or more caregivers provide detailed care.
Applications can be submitted by the parent or primary caregiver by obtaining a power of attorney from the caregiver and applying through the ‘Gyeonggi Minwon 24’ website (http://gg24.gg.go.kr).
Through this program, Gyeonggi Province expects to respect the social value of child-rearing, alleviate parental caregiving burdens, and create a more stable childcare environment.
Kim Mi-seong, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We expect this program to respect the social value of child-rearing and ease the caregiving burden on parents. We will strive to lay the foundation for creating a better environment for raising children by alleviating caregiving gaps in families with dual-income parents or multiple children."
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