As of November 2026, South Korea's parental benefit (부모급여, bumo geubyeo) pays ₩1,000,000 a month for a child aged 0–11 months and ₩500,000 a month for a child aged 12–23 months, unchanged from 2025. Families who care for their child at home receive the full amount in cash. If the child attends a daycare center (어린이집), the government first pays the daycare fee as a voucher and only the remainder reaches your bank account: ₩416,000 for an age-0 child and nothing for an age-1 child. Apply within 60 days of birth to be paid from the month of birth (Korea.kr policy briefing).
This guide cross-checks the Ministry of Health and Welfare briefing on Korea.kr against benefit pages published by local governments. It applies to children who hold Korean nationality and a resident registration number. If your situation is unusual, confirm details with your local community service center (행정복지센터) or the Ministry of Health and Welfare call center at 129.
2026 parental benefit amounts and who qualifies
The parental benefit is a universal monthly payment. There is no income or asset test: every eligible child under 24 months qualifies. The 2026 rates are:
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| Age band | Months | Monthly cash for home care |
|---|---|---|
| Age 0 | 0–11 | ₩1,000,000 |
| Age 1 | 12–23 | ₩500,000 |
Payments run until the month before the month of the child's second birthday, for a maximum of 24 months (Buan County childcare support page). If your child turns two in March, February is the last month of parental benefit. After that, families who do not use daycare, kindergarten or full-day government childcare move to the home care allowance (가정양육수당), which is ₩100,000 a month for a typical child aged 24 to under 86 months. Separate rates apply for farming and fishing areas and for children with disabilities.
Cash is deposited on the 25th of each month, or the previous working day when the 25th falls on a weekend or public holiday. For children in daycare, the cash difference arrives on the 20th of the following month, so siblings on different arrangements may be paid on different dates.
Why daycare families receive only ₩416,000
You can receive the parental benefit in only one form at a time: cash, a daycare fee voucher or full-day government childcare support. Once your child starts daycare, the portion equal to the standard daycare fee is paid to the center through the National Happiness Card voucher, and you receive whatever is left over (Korea.kr policy briefing).
- Age 0 (0–11 months): ₩1,000,000 benefit − ₩584,000 age-0 class fee = ₩416,000 cash
- Age 1 (12–23 months): ₩500,000 benefit − ₩515,000 age-1 class fee = no cash difference
For age-1 children the daycare fee is ₩15,000 higher than the benefit, so there is nothing left to pay out. Parents do not cover that gap; the full ₩515,000 is government-funded. The practical change is that the ₩500,000 you received in cash while caring at home stops when daycare begins, so plan the household budget around that drop.
Attendance rules are friendlier for babies. For children aged three to five, the daycare subsidy is cut to 50% or 25% in months with low attendance, but for children aged 0–1 (0–23 months) it is paid regardless of attendance days. The month in which a child enters or leaves daycare is prorated by day (Buan County childcare support page), which is why your first daycare month may look different. Compare the Bokjiro payment history with the daycare card statement for the same month if something seems off.
The parental benefit, the daycare fee subsidy, the kindergarten tuition subsidy and full-day government childcare cannot be combined. The exception is hourly government childcare (시간제 아이돌봄), which can be used alongside them.
How to apply and the 60-day back-pay window
There are three ways to apply (Gwanak-gu Office parental benefit page):
- In person at any community service center in the country, regardless of where the child is registered. A guardian or an authorized proxy can apply.
- Together with the birth registration through the Happy Birth one-stop service (행복출산 원스톱서비스), which bundles several birth-related benefits on one form.
- Online through the Bokjiro website or app or Government24. Online filing is available only when the guardian is a parent; grandparents and other guardians must apply in person.
Timing matters most. Payments normally start from the month you apply. If you file for the cash benefit within 60 days of birth, counting the birth date, you are paid back to the month of birth. If day 60 falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next day (Buan County childcare support page). Miss it, and the months before your application are lost, so the safest habit is to apply on the day you register the birth.
Applying for the parental benefit does not automatically enroll you for daycare support. If you plan to use daycare or full-day government childcare, submit that application separately.
Switching from home care to daycare: the 15th-day rule
To change how you receive the benefit, you must file a change request. Without one, your existing arrangement continues. Whether you file on or before the 15th or on the 16th or later decides what happens that month (Buan County childcare support page):
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| Direction | Filed by the 15th | Filed on the 16th or later |
|---|---|---|
| Cash → daycare | No cash that month; daycare support from the filing date | Full cash that month; daycare support from the 1st of next month |
| Daycare → cash | No daycare support that month; full cash paid | Full daycare support that month; cash from the 1st of next month |
Suppose your age-0 baby starts daycare on the 10th and you file the change the same day. You will not get ₩1,000,000 cash for that month; the voucher arrangement applies from the 10th. File on the 20th instead and you keep that month's full cash, with the voucher-plus-difference model starting on the 1st of the next month. If you have any flexibility over the start date, this rule is worth knowing. Once the center confirms a place, check that the change request has actually been recorded.
When payments stop or change
Three situations commonly interrupt or reduce the benefit:
- Staying abroad for 90 days or more. If the child is outside Korea for 90 days or more, counting the departure day, payment is suspended from the month after the 90th day until the month of re-entry. Guardians must report a stay of 90 days or more to the local community service center (Gwanak-gu Office parental benefit page).
- Turning 12 months. Home care cash drops from ₩1,000,000 to ₩500,000, and daycare families stop receiving any cash difference.
- Turning 24 months. The parental benefit ends in the month of the second birthday. Home care families move to the home care allowance; daycare families continue with the daycare fee subsidy.
Because the first year carries the largest payments, families planning a long trip abroad should count the days before they leave and ask the local office when payments resume after return.
A checklist for the first weeks after birth
- Apply for the parental benefit through the Happy Birth one-stop service when you register the birth.
- Mark day 60 after birth on your calendar and confirm on Bokjiro that the application was received.
- Decide which account will receive the payment (the child's or a parent's).
- When a daycare place is confirmed, apply for the daycare fee subsidy separately and note whether your change request falls before or after the 15th.
- Budget for cash arriving on the 25th for home care and on the 20th of the following month for the age-0 daycare difference.
- Report any planned stay abroad of 90 days or more before you leave.
The same one-stop form lets you claim the child allowance and the First Meeting Voucher (첫만남이용권) at the same time, which is the easiest way to avoid missing any filing window.
