Expansion of Child Allowance Payment from 'Under 8 Years Old to Under 18 Years Old'
Payment Amount Increased from 100,000 KRW to 200,000 KRW per Month
Jeon Jin-sook, a member of the National Assembly (Gwangju Buk-gu Eul, Democratic Party of Korea), on the 5th, took the lead in proposing the “Partial Amendment to the Child Allowance Act” to expand the recipients of child allowance as the first bill of the 22nd National Assembly.
The current Child Allowance Act stipulates that a monthly child allowance of 100,000 KRW is paid to children under the age of 8 to alleviate the economic burden of child-rearing and promote the basic rights and welfare of children.
However, due to continuous inflation and increased private education expenses, expenditures for families raising children are rising, and it is pointed out that the existing child allowance payment amount alone is insufficient to further reduce the burden of child-rearing.
In addition, families raising children in elementary, middle, and high school are excluded from the child allowance payment recipients, despite facing greater economic burdens due to increased educational expenses compared to families raising infants.
According to the 2021 Family and Childbirth Survey by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the average monthly expenditure per child was 606,000 KRW for infants and toddlers, 785,000 KRW for elementary school students, and 919,000 KRW for middle and high school students, showing an increase proportional to the child’s growth.
The partial amendment to the Child Allowance Act, led by Assemblywoman Jeon, proposes to expand the recipients of the child allowance from children under 8 years old to those under 18 years old and to increase the payment amount from the current 100,000 KRW per month to 200,000 KRW.
Assemblywoman Jeon Jin-sook said, “This is a continuation of child and youth welfare policies that I have been working on since my days as a local council member over 10 years ago,” adding, “I am honored to lead the partial amendment to the Child Allowance Act as the first bill of the 22nd National Assembly, which contributes to improving the quality of life for children and reducing the burden of child-rearing.”
She continued, “It is now time for the state to take responsibility for the basic child-rearing and educational burdens of children, who are the future generation,” and stated, “I will carefully oversee the prompt passage of the bill and budget allocation and continue my legislative activities.”
Meanwhile, the partial amendment to the Child Allowance Act was co-sponsored by 32 members of the National Assembly, including Moon Geum-ju, Song Jae-bong, Kim Nam-hee, Park Min-gyu, Jeon Jae-soo, Mo Kyung-jong, Jang Kyung-tae, Park Jeong-hyun, Lim Ho-seon, Oh Ki-hyung, Seo Mi-hwa, Min Hyung-bae, Kim Moon-soo, Kim Ju-young, Yoon Jun-byeong, Jeong Jin-wook, Park Jeong, Yang Bu-nam, Nam In-soon, Kim Yoon, Park Gyun-taek, Lee Jae-gang, Lee Hak-young, Park Yong-gap, Jeon Jong-deok, Lee Hoon-gi, Oh Se-hee, Park Hae-cheol, Kim Nam-geun, Lee Yong-woo, Jeong Seong-ho, and Kim Hyun.
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