Seoul: President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced a comprehensive plan to boost support for premature babies, addressing the increasing challenges faced by their parents. During his visit to Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Yoon emphasized the government’s commitment to improving the birth, treatment, and care processes for babies born before 37 weeks of gestation or weighing less than 2.5 kilograms, who are at greater health risks.

According to Yonhap News Agency, President Yoon shared his personal experience as a preterm baby weighing 2.3 kg born to a working mother. During his hospital visit, Yoon met with the parent of quintuplets, born through natural conception, marking the first such occurrence in South Korea. He highlighted the significant burden on parents due to the extended hospitalization needs of premature infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Yoon stated, “The government will significantly enhance support across the entire process of childbirth, treatment and care for premature babies.” As part of th
ese measures, Yoo Hye-mi, the presidential secretary for low birth responses, announced plans for establishing two critical maternal and newborn centers, with intentions to expand in the future. Additionally, the government aims to double the current medical expense support cap for premature babies to 20 million won (US$14,336).

Eligibility criteria for support services will be revised to better cater to premature babies who often require prolonged hospital stays. The initiative also involves augmenting financial support for intensive care units and high-risk pregnancies, along with improved compensation for complex medical procedures, such as surgeries for extremely low birth weight infants.

With approximately 28,000 premature births in 2023, constituting over 10 percent of all newborns, the initiative is part of broader efforts to tackle South Korea’s record low birth rate, which is among the lowest globally. The country’s total fertility rate was recorded at 0.76 in the third quarter.

The presidential o
ffice also revealed plans to examine measures supporting babies born to unmarried couples to mitigate social discrimination. A senior presidential official affirmed the government’s philosophy of safeguarding every child, highlighting efforts to improve related policies.

This issue gained prominence after actor Jung Woo-sung disclosed he fathered a son with model Moon Ga-bi, outside of marriage. Last year, about 10,900 babies, or 4.7 percent of total births, were born out of wedlock, the highest rate recorded since such data collection began.