Korea's Multi-Child Utility Discounts: Electricity, Gas and Water Have Different Rules and Separate Applications

The three bills start with different places to apply

• Electricity: KEPCO (website, mobile, branch visit, mail or fax). The phone line is 123 with no area code.
• City gas: your city gas company, the administrative welfare center at your registered address, or Government24 and Bokjiro.
• Water: your local government's water and sewer department. The Seoul and Namyangju guidance both say to apply at the neighborhood community center.

An application to KEPCO is not passed on to the gas company or city hall. If you move, you also have to report the new address to KEPCO separately for electricity.

Electricity: three or more children, 30% a month, capped at 16,000 won

Under KEPCO's terms, a household qualifies when the head of household has three children, or three grandchildren, listed in the registry. A child under 18 who has been split off into a separate registered household still counts as part of the same household. The discount is 30% of the monthly electricity bill, but it stops at a maximum of 16,000 won. No matter how large the bill is, nothing beyond the cap is taken off. You can also apply at the community center when you register a third child's birth. How to choose when you also qualify as a large family or a new-birth household is covered in our guide to the electricity welfare discount and its limits by group.

City gas: three or more children, a fixed amount by season

City gas also covers households with three or more children, or three or more grandchildren, on the household registry, so it looks the same as electricity. The method is different. It is a fixed amount, not a percentage, and it comes off the usage charge excluding the basic fee. For cooking-and-heating use, it is 18,000 won a month in the winter months of December to March and 2,470 won a month from April to November. Households that only use gas for cooking get a smaller amount, so confirm it with your gas company. If the registry cannot confirm that a child is under 18, you submit a family relations certificate. Foster households have a separate standard that counts the foster children together.

Water: the number of children and the discount method differ by local government

There is no nationwide standard for water. Because local ordinances set the rules, the same three children can mean different results depending on where you live. In Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, households with three or more children under 18 get up to 10 tons of water charges taken off the monthly usage, and if usage is under 10 tons only the basic fee is billed. Applications are accepted year-round and take effect from the bill after the month you apply. So some places discount by usage volume rather than by percentage.

Seoul expanded its sewer fee discount to two children

From the March 2026 billing, Seoul widened its 30% sewer usage fee discount from three-child households to households with two or more children aged 18 or under. What I confirmed from Seoul's announcement is the sewer fee, so check your own local guidance separately for the water supply charge. Existing three-child households had to reapply because the verification method changed from birth dates to resident registration records. Seoul said the discount would stop from July if they did not reapply by June this year. If you used to receive it, check that the discount still appears on your bill.

Why the child counts and age cutoffs differ

In short, electricity and gas start at three children, while water can start at two in some local governments. Ages also differ: Seoul's sewer discount says 18 or under, and Namyangju's water discount says under 18. That means eligibility can change around a child's 18th birthday. If your oldest child passes the cutoff age first, a household of three can suddenly count as two. Write the birthdays on your calendar, because age criteria can shift month by month.

If discounts overlap, only one applies

For electricity, when the three-child status overlaps with another qualification you choose just one. Namyangju's water discount likewise applies only the more favorable one when it overlaps with others such as basic livelihood recipients or people with severe disabilities. I could not confirm an overlap rule for gas in the official guidance, so ask your gas company. If you are expecting or have just had a baby, costs are heavy, and the Happiness Card pregnancy and childbirth voucher is worth checking too. If heating costs worry you, read how the energy voucher differs from the electricity welfare discount, and see energy cashback and its one-percent rule.

What to do this week, in order

First, check the number of children and their ages on your resident registration certificate. Second, ask KEPCO at 123 whether the electricity discount is applied. Third, apply for the city gas discount on Government24. Fourth, ask your local water and sewer department about its multi-child criteria. Fifth, check next month's bills for the discount line. This post summarizes public agency guidance as general information and does not decide whether any particular household qualifies. Amounts and rules can change, so confirm with KEPCO, your gas company and your local government.