Parents collected W12.17m in child benefits while their 7-month-old died from neglect

Parents who fail to properly care for their children are still receiving child allowances uninterrupted — a pattern that has come to light in a series of child abuse deaths in which families continued collecting government benefits even after their children died.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments, a couple in their 20s — identified only as Mr. and Mrs. A — detained on charges of child abuse and murder after allegedly neglecting their 7-month-old baby to death in Daejeon, received a total of 12.17 million won ($8,740) in welfare payments and child-rearing support from last December through last month.

The payments included 8 million won in parental pay, 2 million won in a first-meeting voucher, 1.05 million won in other child-rearing support, 820,000 won in child allowances and 300,000 won in a birth incentive grant. Payments continued even in July, the month the baby died, when the couple received 1 million won in parental pay and 105,000 won in child allowances.

In March, a woman in her 20s identified as B was detained after her 19-month-old daughter died from starvation. B, a basic livelihood recipient and single-parent household, had been receiving more than 3 million won a month on average in combined support, including livelihood benefits and child allowances. A woman in her 30s identified as C, recently detained after allegedly abusing her biological daughter to death, continued collecting child-rearing and child allowances paid in the girl's name for some time after the death.

The government provides a first-meeting voucher worth 2 million won — 3 million won for a second child or beyond — to newborns to ease the financial burden on parents. Children under 2 receive monthly parental pay of between 500,000 won and 1 million won depending on age, while children under 9 receive a monthly child allowance of 100,000 won.

The fact that even parents who have abandoned their most basic duties toward their children continue to receive such benefits stirs controversy. Some observers have called for procedures to verify a child's safety and survival before payments are made.

However, the government is proceeding cautiously. Its current approach is to simplify the application process for welfare benefits and actively identify eligible recipients in order to minimize gaps in the welfare safety net. Officials say adding restrictions could create new barriers for families that urgently need help.

The government plans to begin automatically providing the first-meeting voucher, parental pay and child allowances next year without requiring a separate application.