Current Situation and Challenges in Cash Benefits for Families with Children

Abstract

In South Korea, the central government provides parental leave benefits, child allowances, and parental benefits, while local governments offer maternity benefits in a discretionary manner. However, without an income security system for unemployed parents, the design of parental leave benefits primarily serves working couples with stable jobs, potentially leading to regressive income redistribution. Additionally, maternity grants, which vary significantly across regions, are administered arbitrarily by local governments, lacking concrete evidence of their effectiveness in boosting birth rates. Therefore, reforms are necessary in the cash benefits system for families with children to minimize the risk of regressive redistribution and to ensure equitable and sufficient access to benefits for everyone during childbearing and parenting periods.