Lawmaker moves to bar child abusers from national pension birth credit

Rep. Yoon Jun-byeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, who sits on the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee and represents Jeongeup and Gochang-gun in North Jeolla Province, on Monday introduced a bill that would bar convicted child abusers from receiving national pension birth credits for the children they abused.

Under current law, national pension subscribers who give birth to or adopt a second or subsequent child receive additional credited contribution periods through the birth credit system.

Critics have pointed to a significant legal blind spot, however: under existing rules, a person convicted of child abuse can still receive the state-funded birth credit in full, as long as they meet the basic requirement of having given birth to or adopted a child.

The concern has grown more pressing as abuse, neglect and even fatal mistreatment of infants and young children have emerged as serious social problems. Critics have argued that extending the benefit without restriction in such cases undermines the moral credibility of the system and weakens public awareness of child abuse.

In response, Yoon introduced an amendment that would exclude perpetrators convicted of child abuse offenses from the pool of birth credit recipients.

The proposed amendment would prevent the credited period recognized for a given child from being added to an abuser's national pension contribution record if the abuser has received a final guilty verdict for a child-abuse-related offense under the Child Welfare Act with respect to that child. The measure aims to stop public funds from flowing to child abusers and to strengthen the public interest and social credibility of the birth credit system.

"The national pension birth credit is a system in which the state invests public funds to encourage childbirth and child-rearing, so extending the same benefit to those who have abused children is inconsistent with public sentiment and the purpose of the system," Yoon said. "Child abuse is a grave crime that destroys a child's entire life, and state support programs must fully reflect social responsibility and the public interest. Through this amendment, we will correct the injustice of directing public funds to child abusers and further strengthen public trust in the birth credit system."