▲ Postnatal care subsidy support
Gyeonggi Province is expected to maintain its postnatal care subsidy program, which had even sparked a petition calling for the resignation of Governor Choo Mi-ae.
An official from the Health and Welfare Bureau of Gyeonggi Province stated on October 6, "On September 30, we sent an official notice to 31 cities and counties instructing them to continue accepting applications for postnatal care subsidies as before to prevent any inconvenience to petitioners."
The official explained, "Although negotiations on the supplementary budget with the provincial assembly are still ongoing, we understand that a consensus has been reached to a certain extent regarding the restoration of the postnatal care budget. We sent the official notice on the premise that the budget will be restored."
Previously, Gyeonggi Province had prepared a supplementary budget draft while cutting 3.62 billion won in postnatal care subsidy funds for the three months from October to December. On September 9, the province had sent a notice to cities and counties stating that applications for postnatal care subsidies would no longer be available starting in October.
The postnatal care subsidy provides 500,000 won per newborn in local currency, with the project costs shared equally between Gyeonggi Province and the respective cities and counties.
Applications can be submitted through town, township, and neighborhood community service centers or the Gyeonggi Minwon 24 website, and payments are disbursed within 14 days.
It is reported that Gyeonggi Province plans to request cities and counties to execute the project funds preemptively if the processing of the supplementary budget by the provincial assembly is delayed.
Gyeonggi Province had initially decided to terminate the postnatal care subsidy program after the applications processed last month, citing the establishment and expansion of similar support systems such as the central government's First Meeting Voucher and municipal childbirth support funds. This triggered backlash from residents, with petitions posted on the Gyeonggi Petition website opposing the termination of the program as well as demanding the resignation of Governor Choo.
A petition opposing the sudden abolition of postnatal care subsidies, posted on September 9, has garnered agreement from over 26,000 residents as of today. Under the rules, any petition that receives the consent of 10,000 or more people during the 30-day public comment period requires a direct response from the governor.
(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)
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