Gangneung is introducing a programme funding fertility treatment costs, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported, covering up to five additional cycles for couples who have exhausted their national allocation.

State support for fertility treatment sets a ceiling on the number of funded cycles by procedure type. Couples wishing to continue after reaching the ceiling had to meet the full cost themselves, which has been identified as the main reason treatment is discontinued.

In-vitro fertilisation is reported to cost several million won per cycle. Because the burden compounds with each attempt, research generally concludes that additional funding affects whether couples continue.

Local authorities filling gaps in national support has appeared in several regions recently. Because the scale of support varies with each authority's finances, however, the resulting disparity by place of residence is also noted as a problem.

For foreign couples and Chinese-community households in Korea, eligibility can differ according to health insurance enrolment and residence requirements. Local programmes generally use resident registration or foreign resident registration within the jurisdiction as the criterion.

Application procedures and eligibility will be announced through the city public health centre. Since detailed requirements are fixed in the programme notice, households concerned do better to check the notice directly.