The Korean Government is reported to have expanded its financial budget for the community’s multiple births. The financial budget expanded aims to support medical expenses and other welfare measures for multiple pregnancies. This budget expansion is based on the increasing of the ratio of multiple births.
The expansion of the government’s budget is mainly all about medical support for pregnancies, since the reason for the expansion is the ratio of multiple births that has been rising recently. The government has decided to increase medical costs for each fetus. Before, the Korean Government supported 1 million won medical costs of single pregnancies, 1.4 million won medical costs of multiple pregnancies, without minding that the pregnancy of twins, triplets, or quadruplets.
“Under this change, 2 million won will be offered for a twin pregnancy, 3 million won for triplets and 4 million won for quadruplets,” First Vice Health Minister Lee Ki-il explained in a press conference briefing.
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Besides financial support for pregnancies, especially for multiple births, the Korean Government also decided to facilitate pregnant women for postpartum caregivers. So, we can conclude that after the women gave birth, the postpartum caregiver fee won’t be as high-priced as before.
Not only helping the pregnancy welfare financially, the Korean Government also decided to increase pregnancy welfare higher by revising the Labor Standards Act. It will help pregnant women who will undergo multiple births to get the equal right of labor in the middle of their pregnancy journey.
In the current law, pregnant women can apply for a reduction in work hours per day, but only during the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy or after week 36. The incoming revised law will allow pregnant women to apply for a working hour reduction during the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy or after week 32. Also, the maternity leave period will be higher for women who will give birth to twins or other multiples.
