A mother-in-law with a health care license could serve as a postpartum helper for a grandchild, but the maternal grandmother could not. This situation arose because the maternal grandmother, a direct blood relative, was classified as family under civil law, regardless of whether they shared a common livelihood.
The government announced on the 19th that it has improved the system to allow maternal grandmothers to receive government support funds when serving as postpartum helpers.
According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the current system excludes those categorized as the family's mother from being eligible for support when the mother applies for government postpartum helper services with a health care license. Since a mother-in-law who does not share a livelihood is not considered family under civil law, she can receive support, but the maternal grandmother cannot. This is because the maternal grandmother, a direct blood relative, is categorized as family regardless of whether they share a common livelihood. This regulation was selected as the top entry in the 'Absurd Regulation National Contest' by the Office for Government Policy Coordination.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare accepted the criticism and revised the guidelines to allow maternal grandmothers to receive support.
The second place in the absurd regulation was the issue arising in the 'priority middle school assignment benefit for families with multiple children.' The current system allows priority middle school assignment only if there are more than three children under the age of 18. If the eldest turns 18, the remaining children lose the benefit. The Ministry of Education accepted the criticism of being an 'absurd regulation' and amended the Enforcement Decree of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in October. Now, if there are more than three children, all can receive the priority middle school assignment benefit, regardless of age.
The third place went to the issue of 'using the remaining balance of digital Onnuri gift certificates.' Currently, when making a purchase more expensive than the remaining balance, the balance cannot be used, and the full amount must be paid with other payment methods registered in the Onnuri gift certificate application, like a credit card. The balance was not depleted.
In response, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups decided to improve the system so that the shortage amount is automatically recharged during payment, and the full price is paid.
There was also a criticism about the regulation where female teenagers could not pay for a bag with a voucher card when purchasing sanitary products. To buy a bag after purchasing sanitary products, they had to use cash or a separate card. As the bag costs about 50 won, store owners are reluctant to accept card payments, causing inconvenience for teens who had to bring their bags or carry coins.
The regulation that prevented middle and high school basketball players from participating in games for a year after transferring was also improved. This regulation was applied even to students who transferred because their current school's basketball team had fewer than five members, making it difficult to form a team. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to improve the system in consultation with the Middle and High School Basketball Federation.
Han Duck-soo, acting president and prime minister, received a report on absurd regulation improvement measures at the state affairs briefing media meeting and noted, 'It affects everyone in the nation, and if we only received suggestions from corporations, we wouldn't have known,' and instructed, 'Hold contests more frequently.'