The belief that new mothers could count on subsidized postpartum care disappeared overnight. Gyeonggi Province's abrupt announcement that it would end the support drew a wave of petitions from mothers.
A petition titled "Opposing Gyeonggi Province's Surprise Abolition of the Postpartum Care Subsidy" gathered more than 10,000 endorsements within a day of posting, making it eligible for an official response from the provincial governor, the province said on the 11th.
Under provincial rules, if a petition draws more than 10,000 endorsements within 30 days of posting, the governor must issue an official response within 30 days. A surge in traffic has left the province's petition website hampered by system failures.
Gyeonggi Province said on the 9th that it would phase out or restructure four maternal and child health programs starting at the end of this month, including medical cost support for discontinued fertility treatments, the provincial postpartum care subsidy, subsidies for egg freezing procedures, and supplementary health management support for mothers and newborns. The province said the move was intended to better align the programs with the national support system and improve efficiency.
But residents have reacted strongly to the sudden announcement, which came without advance notice. The Gyeonggi provincial chapter of the Progressive Party issued a statement the same day calling it "one-sided administration that shifts the burden of a fiscal crisis onto residents," and demanded an immediate reversal.
Yoo Young-chul, director general of the Gyeonggi Province Health Bureau, said the changes were not a simple cut. "This restructuring of maternal and child health programs is a measure to provide more stable and sustainable maternal and child health services through linkage with national policy," he said.
