Korea to expand eligibility for benefits given to multi-child families

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Families with two or more children will be eligible for benefits given to households with multiple children under the government’s eased standard as the country grapples with the world’s lowest birth rate.

The Ministry of Education on Wednesday announced improved measures related to households with multiple children. It decided to relax the criteria for a multi-child household from a family with three or more children to a household with two or more.

The ministry is considering including multi-child families in the eligibility criteria for after-school care classes at elementary school.

Currently, the classes are available to dual-income, low-income, and single-parent families, as well as students recommended by their teachers, but there are no separate criteria for multi-child families.

The pilot operation is currently underway in eight cities and provinces this year, and it will be expanded nationwide in the following year to meet the high demand for childcare facilities among multi-child families.

The government will also expand support for elementary, middle, and high school education expenses. Each municipal and provincial education office and local government will revise or amend the regulations regarding education expense support criteria and pursue expansion of the scope and items of support.

Currently, most regions except for the education offices in North Gyeongsang Province, South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island provide support for education expenses focusing on the third and subsequent children of families with three or more children.

In order to expand related support for multi-child families, Gangwon Provincial Office of Education will implement an ordinance in 2025 to support education expenses for the first child of families with two or more children.

Daejeon and South Gyeongsang Provincial Offices of Education are promoting an ordinance to support education expenses for the second child in families with two or more children.

Each local government and regional education office will also expand the target of multi-child education support policies to include families with two or more children.

Starting next year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will change the selection criteria for gifted education candidates from families with three or more children to families with two or more children.

Daegu Metropolitan City Government will also expand its high school entrance support to 300,000 won ($223.65) for the second child and 500,000 won for the third child.

Busan Metropolitan City Government will establish a new system for multi-child education support to provide 300,000 won for families with two children and 500,000 won for families with three or more children.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will increase government support for childcare services, including additional discounts on out-of-pocket expenses based on income level and the number of children.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will consider expanding the childbirth credit when it develops the fifth comprehensive operation plan of the National Pension Service in October to reflect the low birthrate in the country.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will also change the criteria for special supply of public housing for multi-child families to two or more children by the end of this year, and will also consider relaxing the criteria for special supply of private housing.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to revise the Local Tax Exemption and Reduction Act to provide two-children families with exemptions and reductions in automobile acquisition taxes, which were previously available only to three-child families.

Local governments across the country will also expand support programs for families with multiple children.

Starting this year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will gradually offer free or half-price discounts on public facility fees, and in the second half of the year, it will expand bonus points for long-term rental housing and relax the criteria for prioritized housing supply.

“The relevant ministries have joined forces to overhaul policies to support multi-child families so that government efforts for multi-child families can substantially reduce the childcare burden faced by multi-child families,” said Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education.