1. Relaxed standard for multiple children from 3 to 2
2. Free admission or 50% discount to 13 public facilities in Seoul, including Seoul Grand Park
3. Expanded eligibility for “multi-children card” membership to age 18
4. Expansion of additional points for long-term lease housing with eased preferential supply standards to increase opportunities for occupancy and reduce housing cost burden
5. Support for free children’s insurance for children under 24 months of multi-children families
6. Reduced burden of educational expenses for multi-children families by expanding the number of Seoul Learn subscribers

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) held a talk show as part of Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s Happy Parents Project. Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that he will strengthen support for 430,000 multi-children families to alleviate their economic burden of raising multiple children. Their burden is twice or triple the normal cost and labor, in a situation where the number of multi-child families is decreasing due to the intensifying ultra-low birth rate. This is the third countermeasure against low birth rates following the supports for infertile couples and pregnant women.

The city’s standard for multiple children will be relaxed from 3 to 2, and admission fees for 13 public facilities directly operated or consigned by the city, such as Seoul Grand Park and Seoul Science Museum, as well as lesson fees will be available for free or at half price.

The city’s multi-children card will be upgraded by drastically relaxing the issuance qualification limit from age 13 to age 18 starting in July. This will increase the number of households receiving benefits by 49% from about 290,000 to about 430,000; children will be able to receive various benefits such as transportation expenses, cultural facility fees, and discounts on academies, bookstores, and study cafes until they graduate from high school.

In addition, the highest additional points (5 points) given to families with 5 or more children when selecting tenants for long-term lease housing will be alleviated to those with 3 or more children, expanding the opportunity for multi-child families. The subscription fee for children’s insurance will be fully supported for all families with multiple children under 24 months, and the households with three or more children will be supported from the second child to join Seoul Learn, reducing the burden of education expenses.

“I think that parents of many children who are struggling to raise their children, when marriage and childbirth are avoided, are the heroes of this era,” said Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. “For families with multiple children, public facilities operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government will be available for free or at half price, and the benefits limited to children under the age of 13 will also be extended to those aged 18.” He added, “We will continue to implement policies that prioritize multi-child families, such as lowering the threshold for moving into long-term lease housing to alleviate the burden of housing costs, which will ease the economic burden even a little.”