Seven-year-olds to receive 100,000 won in child allowance

Children of seven years old are eligible for child allowance this month. It will apply retroactively to those excluded due to the existing age limit (up to six-year-olds).

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Sunday that the age limit of child allowance will go up to seven-year-old children this month as per the revised act on child allowance. Children receive a monthly benefit of 100,000 won until the month prior to the one that they turn eight. The payment is transferred to a bank account of children’s protectors on the 25th day of every month. The period of child benefits is extended automatically without any application to be submitted.

The retroactive application of the scheme involves children who were not allowed to continue to receive the allowance due to the existing criteria but are subject to payments made from January to March with a new age limit to be put in force, due to which, those born from February 2014 to March 2015 or a total of 503,106 children are incorporated newly into the recipient group this month. As per the child benefit criteria that will apply retroactively, those born in February 2014 and March 2015 receive 100,000 won or one month’s sum, those born in March 2014 and February 2015 get two months’ amount of 200,000 won and those born from April 2014 to January 2015 are awarded three months’ sum or 300,000 won. The retroactive payments will be made collectively on Monday, not requiring any separate application. New applicants of child allowance or those who aspire to change protectors or bank accounts may visit relevant community service centers with authority over addresses of where children reside recorded for resident registration.

Since child allowance was first introduced in September 2018 to provide the benefit to children aged five and below from households in the bottom 10 percent of income and property, the range of recipients has been expanded over time. As of now, all children of the age in question are subject to child allowance regardless of income and property levels.


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