Seoul City Hall / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government revised several long-standing regulations affecting foreign residents in the city, including age limits on child care subsidies, to improve service accessibility and support.

In response to feedback from residents, the city government on Sunday identified 10 outdated regulations in need of improvement. The initiative aligns with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's policy of prioritizing reforms this year.

Among the changes, two policies concerning foreign residents have been selected for revision. One significant update is the removal of the age restriction on child care subsidies for non-Korean children.

Previously, such children received a 50 percent child care subsidy only between the ages of 3 and 5, unlike their Korean counterparts. The revised policy now extends support to all children from infancy to age 5, ensuring equal benefits with children of Korean nationality.

Additionally, even if a child does not reside in Seoul but attends a day care center within the city, they will be eligible for the subsidy, regardless of their parents' income.

The policy applies to children who do not hold Korean nationality or whose parents are both foreign nationals.

As of last year, child care costs for infants to 2-year-olds ranged between 390,000 won ($270.5) and 540,000 won per month. With the new policy in place, Seoul will cover 50 percent of these costs, reducing the financial burden for households to approximately 200,000 won to 270,000 won per month.

In 2023, the city allocated 1.7 billion won for subsidies for 1,480 children of foreign nationals aged 3 to 5. With eligibility now extended to children from infancy to 5 years old, Seoul has increased its budget to 3.5 billion won, aiming to support a total of 3,100 children.

This will be applied retroactively from January, covering child care expenses for the past two months.

Another key reform simplifies the application process for transportation subsidies for pregnant women of foreign nationality in multicultural families.

Previously, applicants were required to submit a certificate of alien registration to verify six months of residency. However, since the six-month residency rule was abolished in March 2024, pregnant women of foreign nationality can apply for maternity transportation support without this certificate, requiring only a pregnancy confirmation document and a resident registration certificate.

The city's initiative to provide transportation subsidies for pregnant women began in July 2022. This has supported approximately 120,000 recipients over the past three years, including 2,651 beneficiaries from multicultural families.

These regulatory reforms come as the number of registered foreign residents in Seoul continues to rise. The foreign population grew from 226,569 at the end of 2021 to 265,452 in January.

"The city will continue refining regulations that impact residents' daily lives to ensure these changes are truly felt by them," a city official said. "We will also closely monitor the implementation process to ensure that the reforms are effectively carried out."