"Even One Child Earns 20 Million Won"...The City That Greatly Increased Its Birth Grant

According to The Financial News, Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province has sharply increased its birth grant to 20 million won per child in response to the crisis of low birth rates and population decline.
On the 25th, Geochang County announced that it will implement a revised version of the "Ordinance on Support for Population Growth."
Under the main revisions, the birth grant will be raised significantly from 5 million won to 20 million won per child. The childcare support payment, which is provided separately from the birth grant, will be paid in installments rather than as a lump sum, in line with the county’s policy of encouraging long-term settlement in the area.
The childcare support payment will provide 18 million won for a first child, paid as 300,000 won per month for 60 months. From the second child onward, a multi-child support standard will apply, offering 29.4 million won, paid as 350,000 won per month for 84 months, to ease the financial burden of raising children.
The latest ordinance revision focuses on reducing the burden on families who give birth and raise children, while strengthening support so that new residents can settle stably in the region.
Accordingly, a new set of preemptive support measures for incoming households has been introduced. Households moving into Geochang County will receive support for part of their individual resident tax and the housing portion of their Property Tax for up to two years, helping to reduce initial settlement costs.
For the "Live in Geochang" program, which aims to attract medium- to long-term residents, the content has been made more concrete, expanding from simple local experiences to activities such as touring vacant houses and trying out rural life. In addition, the method of providing fruit puree baby food has been simplified for residents’ convenience, changing from four boxes of products worth 100,000 won to two boxes.
A county official explained, "These policy changes are intended to create an environment where people can stay in the region by reducing everyday costs from childbirth through settlement," and emphasized, "We will do our utmost to ensure that residents fully receive the benefits under the revised standards."
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter