Taean-gun raises childbirth incentives up to fivefold to combat population decline

Taean-gun in South Chungcheong Province has announced a major increase in childbirth incentive payments to tackle the county's low birth rate and rapidly aging population.

Starting next year, the county will raise the grant for a first child from 500,000 won ($377) to 3 million won, for a second child from 1 million won to 5 million won, and for a third or subsequent child from 2 million won to 10 million won, according to county officials Wednesday.

Residents aged 65 and older numbered 24,165 as of last September, accounting for 41 percent of the total population. Meanwhile, annual births have fallen roughly 64 percent, from 355 in 2016 to 128 last year.

The county plans to pay out the incentives — capped at 10 million won — in installments starting next year. Half of the support amount will be disbursed as mobile Taean Love gift vouchers.

To ease the childcare burden on parents, the county will also provide a monthly family caregiving allowance of 300,000 won per child when a relative within the fourth degree of kinship cares for a child aged 2 to 3 for at least 40 hours a month. The benefit is available to households with incomes at or below 150 percent of the median.

Welfare support for the elderly will also be expanded.

The county plans to extend its five-day-a-week lunch support program for senior centers from 38 locations this year to 50 next year.

Next year, the county will also invest 27.14 billion won to create 6,075 jobs for older residents, with additional positions in healthcare, caregiving and safety services.

An additional 48 AI caregiving robots will be introduced for elderly residents living alone and others in need, bringing the total number of supported households to 100.

The moves follow a decision by Geochang-gun in South Gyeongsang Province, which amended its ordinance in March to raise its childbirth congratulatory grant from 5 million won to 20 million won per child in response to the low birth rate and population decline.

Geochang-gun also provides a separate child-rearing allowance on top of the congratulatory grant — 18 million won in total for a first child (300,000 won a month for 60 months) and 29.4 million won for a second or subsequent child (350,000 won a month for 84 months).