South Korea is reviewing whether to apply its expanded childbirth and childcare support package from Jan. 1, 2027, rather than the planned July 1 launch, after President Lee Jae-myung questioned the fairness of a cutoff that could leave children born days apart with sharply different benefits. The proposed childbirth payment would provide 10 million won for a first child, 12 million won for a second and 15 million won for a third or later child, with regional supplements raising the payment to as much as 20 million won. The broader package would include a 300,000-won monthly child allowance through age 12 and a 300,000-won monthly home-care supplement for infants aged 0–1. Under the existing and proposed systems, the total first-child support gap could exceed 30 million won, reaching as much as 69 million won under the expanded package in qualifying cases versus 38.72 million won under current rules. Health and Welfare Minister Jung Eun-kyeong said retroactive application based on birth year appeared feasible, while Budget and Planning Minister Park Hong-keun said the main challenge was upgrading government information systems and local administration. Advancing the launch would require National Assembly review, budget revisions and additional funding estimated at about 250 billion won, although Lee said the necessary tax revenue appeared secured.