Gyeonggi Province to Invest 10.3 Trillion Won Over 3 Years to Support Teen Parents' Livelihoods and Self-Reliance

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province will invest approximately 10.3 trillion won over three years across 56 projects to support teen parent households' livelihood stability and self-reliance, including providing monthly child-rearing allowances of 200,000 won per child starting in July.

The province announced on the 16th that it has established the '1st (2022-2024) Gyeonggi Province Teen Parent Household Support Plan' with these details.

This support plan follows the 'Ordinance on Support for Teen Parent Households,' the nation's first of its kind enacted on December 31, 2020, and Chapter 5-2 (Support for Teen Parents) of the 'Youth Welfare Support Act' newly established on March 23, 2021.

Specific details were finalized after review by a liaison meeting among officials responsible for supporting teen parent households, a survey on the actual conditions of teen parents, and deliberation by the Teen Parent Household Support Committee.

According to the main contents, the province has established four key implementation strategies with the vision of 'Gyeonggi where teen parents and their children are happy': ▲Strengthening childcare and support (child-rearing support, expansion and operation of childcare, and promotion of children's health) ▲Supporting employment, economic self-reliance, and housing (support for teen parents' educational and employment activities, promoting work motivation and protecting rights, and providing stable housing) ▲Establishing customized integrated support (enhancing the capacity of teen parent households, establishing and strengthening customized integrated support systems and linkages) ▲Strengthening pregnancy, childbirth, and health promotion (strengthening childbirth support for teen parents and pregnant mothers, strengthening health promotion, and providing mental health support).

The plan also includes 56 projects across 17 departments under 11 implementation tasks, with a total three-year project budget estimated at 10.3084 trillion won (national funding 6.2849 trillion won, provincial funding 2.081 trillion won, municipal funding 1.9425 trillion won).

As a major project, a child-rearing allowance support program will be launched starting in July targeting teen parent households. Eligibility includes teen parent households with income recognition amounts at or below 60% of the median household income, and each child will receive 200,000 won monthly. Detailed schedules will be announced and applications will be accepted through the relevant administrative welfare centers.

Additionally, the 'Self-reliance Support Promotion Allowance,' which provides 100,000 won monthly for one year to teen single-parent households with a record of participating in self-reliance activities through academic studies, vocational training, or employment activities within the past year, and 'Medical Expense Support for Teen Mothers,' which provides 1.2 million won per pregnancy to pregnant mothers age 19 and under, will continue to be implemented.

Ji Ju-yeon, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We will create a foundation for teen parents to stably care for their children and achieve social and economic self-reliance," and added, "We will make our best efforts to provide comprehensive support services to enable them to grow into mature and healthy families."