Bucheon Expands Childbirth Support Grant to Firstborns... "Comprehensive Support for Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Childcare"

Bucheon City in Gyeonggi Province will expand eligibility for its childbirth support grant to include firstborn children starting next year.

According to the city on October 31, Bucheon has previously provided 7 million won to families with a fourth child or more. However, in response to citizens' demands and to enhance the effectiveness of the policy, the city has decided to offer childbirth support grants starting from the first child beginning in 2026.

The plan is to provide 1 million won for the first and second child, 2 million won for the third child, and 4 million won for the fourth child. It is expected that approximately 3,300 newborns per year, from the first to the third child, will benefit from this policy. To implement this, the city will submit a proposed amendment to the “Ordinance on Childbirth Support Grants” to the city council in January next year. If passed, the changes will be reflected in the first supplementary budget and applied to babies born from January of that year.

To create a “child-friendly city,” Bucheon is strengthening practical support that citizens can feel throughout the entire process of pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. In addition to expanding the childbirth support grant, the city offers free pre-pregnancy health checkups, support for Korean traditional medicine infertility treatments and oocyte cryopreservation, an expanded “Mom-Comfortable Taxi” service for pregnant women, eco-friendly agricultural and healthy livestock product packages, and entrance preparation grants for elementary school students, among other tailored measures for future generations.

The city has provided a total of 31 basic health screenings-including tests for rubella, hepatitis B, liver function, anemia, blood sugar, and urinalysis-to prospective and newlywed couples preparing for their first pregnancy. Due to high demand, the program ended early but is scheduled to resume in January next year.

Additionally, Bucheon fully covers the cost of Korean herbal medicine treatments-worth 1.8 million won per person-using city funds. Reflecting the trend of increasing maternal age, the city also supports costs for oocyte cryopreservation procedures and assisted reproductive techniques using frozen eggs.

Mayor Jo Yong-ik of Bucheon City is smiling brightly with children at the Korean Manhwa Museum Children's Day event last May. Bucheon City, Gyeonggi Province

The “Mom-Comfortable Taxi” service provides taxi fare support for pregnant women and mothers within one year of childbirth who are registered residents of Bucheon when visiting hospitals. The city offers support up to four times a month, with a maximum of 13,000 won per ride. Currently, more than 5,600 pregnant women use the service over 30,000 times annually. For the month of November, the city will temporarily increase the maximum number of uses to eight times per month and lift the restriction limiting destinations to hospital visits as part of a special event.

The “365-Day Hourly Childcare” program, operated at Aram Daycare Center, allows children from six months to seven years old (pre-kindergarten) to use the service for up to 80 hours per month, including weekends and public holidays, regardless of whether they are enrolled at the daycare center.

The “Elementary School Entrance Preparation Grant,” introduced this year, provides 100,000 won in Bucheon Pay to first-grade students entering elementary school. This benefit, which was previously limited to school uniform support for new middle and high school students, has been expanded to elementary students to promote universal basic education. Applications are open until November 28.

Jo Yongik, Mayor of Bucheon, stated, “We are not simply encouraging childbirth, but proactively responding to the rapid demographic changes caused by low birth rates and creating an environment where citizens can feel secure about having children.”