A baby born in June 2027 and a baby born in July 2027 will receive differently named payments, in different forms and different amounts. On August 28, 2026, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said in its "Youth Budget Unboxing 2027" briefing material that it will replace the First Meeting Voucher, the parent benefit and the child allowance with a child welcome grant and a child basic allowance. This is the 2027 government proposal and has not yet been through the National Assembly, so it is not settled law. Still, families who are expecting or raising infants should know which side of the line they fall on. This article follows that briefing material and its Q&A sheet.

The dividing line is a birth on July 1, 2027

The new system applies to children born on or after July 1, 2027. Children born up to June 30, 2027 keep receiving the existing First Meeting Voucher, parent benefit and child allowance. The briefing material states the time limits for those children too: the First Meeting Voucher can be used within two years of birth, the parent benefit is paid until the child is under 2 (through the last month of age 1), and the child allowance is paid until the child is under 13 (through the last month of age 12).

Today the support comes in three separate pieces

The current system has three parts. The First Meeting Voucher is a one-time voucher on application: 2 million won for a first child and 3 million won for a second or later child. The parent benefit is paid in cash: 1 million won a month at age 0 and 500,000 won a month at age 1. The child allowance is 100,000 won a month in the Seoul metropolitan area and 105,000 won elsewhere, rising to 110,000 or 120,000 won in population-decline priority areas. How the parent benefit arrives when a child attends daycare is explained in our article on why the parent benefit does not shrink when you use daycare.

The child welcome grant is paid in cash, in four installments

The child welcome grant is a birth payment that combines the nature of the First Meeting Voucher and the parent benefit. The base amounts are 10 million won for a first child, 12 million won for a second and 15 million won for a third or later child. In priority areas, 5 million won is added, giving 15 million, 17 million and 20 million won. It is paid in four quarterly installments during the first year after birth, and because it is cash, it has no restriction on where or by when it must be spent. For a first child at the base amount, each installment is 2.5 million won. The material gives examples: a child born in July 2027 is paid in July and October 2027 and January and April 2028, and one born in August is paid in August, November, February and May.

The child basic allowance is 200,000 won a month until age 13

The child basic allowance is paid every month from age 0 until the child is under 13. The base amount is 200,000 won a month, made up of 100,000 won in cash and 100,000 won in local gift certificates. Priority areas receive 300,000 won, with 150,000 in cash and 150,000 in certificates. A child aged 0 to 1 who is raised at home rather than in daycare gets another 300,000 won a month. The ministry described this as a way to treat families fairly regardless of whether they use daycare. The totals are in the material's table. In a base area, the total through age 12 is 31.2 million won with daycare and 38.4 million won without it. For a first child raised at home in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ministry said the family would receive 12.8 million won more than under the current system.

Families with school-age children should look at the age table

There is also something here for families whose children are already in elementary school. Under an amendment to the Child Allowance Act, the age up to which the allowance is paid rises by one year each year: under 9 in 2026, under 10 in 2027, under 11 in 2028, under 12 in 2029 and under 13 in 2030. The 200,000-won child basic allowance applies from children born on July 1, 2027, so a child already in school stays in the current child allowance system. The rule that suspends the child allowance during long overseas stays is covered in our article on the 90-day overseas stay rule.

Priority areas are decided by your address on the 15th

The material says priority areas are divided using the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's regional preference index, include population-decline areas, and are still being adjusted. How a move changes the amount is already set. The child welcome grant is paid according to the address on the 15th of each quarterly payment month, and the child basic allowance according to the address on the 15th of each month. For example, a first child born in the Seoul area in July 2027 who moves to a priority area on December 31 receives 2.5 million won in July and October, then 3.75 million won in January and April, for a total of 12.5 million won.

How birth order and late registration are handled

Whether a child counts as second or third is decided by birth order on the resident registration record and the family relations certificate. In divorce cases, documents such as the basic certificate and court judgments are checked, and a child born to a guardian with custody in a remarriage is treated as a second child. If the birth registration or the submission of bank account details is late and a child misses the benefit in the birth month, the material says the unpaid amount will be paid retroactively from the birth month once the resident registration number and account are confirmed. However, today's parent benefit must be applied for within 60 days of birth to be paid from the birth month, so check the application procedure for the new system before it starts.

What is still not settled and what to do now

The ministry said it will amend the Child Allowance Act and prepare the systems before launch. The amounts and payment methods could therefore change during National Assembly deliberation, and the priority-area list has not been published. The timing of a birth is a medical decision made by the mother and her doctors, so no one should try to shift the date because of a payment. There are three things to do now. First, check whether your due date is before June 30, 2027 or on or after July 1, 2027 to see which system applies. Second, do not miss the application deadline of the current system, and apply together with the birth registration. Third, check the launch date in Ministry of Health and Welfare announcements and on Bokjiro. Changes on the early childhood education side are in our article on free early childhood education in 2027, and kindergarten fee burdens are in our article on Nuri curriculum subsidies. This article is general information based on the government proposal and does not decide anyone's eligibility; confirm the details with Bokjiro, your local community service center or the Health and Welfare Call Center at 129.