By Lee Kyung-min
Starting next month, the government will give 500,000 won ($443) in state support to women who failed to report their pregnancies to health authorities in time.
Under the current law, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) issue a debit card with a 500,000 won balance to pregnant women as part of its welfare support. They can use it only for pregnancy-related treatments.
The health ministry said eligible under the expanded program will be women who had miscarriages before applying for the state support, or who simply delayed reporting it. Only those who report a miscarriage or childbirth within 60 days of either will be eligible.
Up to 200,000 won will also be given to women living in ministry-designated remote provincial areas with low medical access.
They include islands off Incheon, six counties in Gangwon Province, three in the Chungcheong provinces, nine in the Jeolla provinces and 15 in the Gyeongsang provinces.
Since January, women pregnant with twins or more were given 900,000 won, up 200,000 won from a year earlier.
Starting October, the government will shoulder part of infertility treatment costs. Couples can visit community health centers to see if they are eligible and how much support they can receive. Both men and women are eligible.
According to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), 219,110 people underwent infertility treatment last year, up 12 percent from 2012. About 15 percent of couples in Korea are believed to have difficulty conceiving.
The expensive treatments led some couples to call their babies before they are born “samcheon,” or “ocheon,” indicating they spent 30 million won or 50 million won for the treatment.
The increased support for pregnant women or couples who try to get pregnant comes amid a record low birthrate.
Statistics Korea data released Wednesday showed the number of babies born in the first half of the year fell below 200,000, a significant indicator that the total number of newborns will fall below 400,000 for the first time since 2000 when the statistical office started compiling data.
Experts say Korea will continue to see a decreasing birthrate amid the steady decrease in the workforce population amid an “aged society,” defined by the number of senior citizens surpassing that of newborns.