Children's products are displayed at a department store in Seoul. (Yonhap) The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Tuesday proposed increasing the National Pension childbirth credit for parents with a second child to 15 months as part of its policy agenda for the second half of 2026.The ministry said the change is intended to extend parents' recognized contribution periods, helping strengthen retirement income.Under the current system, introduced in January, parents receive 12 months of credited contribution time toward the National Pension for their first child and another 12 months for their second. The revision would increase the second-child credit by three months to 15 months, while credits for a third or subsequent child would remain unchanged at 18 months per child.Before this year, the childbirth credit was available only to parents with two or more children. Pension reforms that took effect in January expanded the benefit to first-time parents and abolished the previous 50-month cap on credited contribution periods.The government is also pursuing a measure to exclude parents convicted of child abuse from receiving childbirth credits. Officials said the move is intended to improve fairness by preventing those who neglect their parental responsibilities from benefiting from the welfare program.The changes would require revisions to the National Pension Act before taking effect.The proposal comes as Korea continues to show signs of a modest rebound in births. According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the country recorded 24,521 births in April, up 18 percent from a year earlier, marking the 22nd consecutive month of year-on-year growth.Second-child births also increased. Korea recorded 7,838 second-child births in April, up by 1,221 from a year earlier and accounting for about 32 percent of all births.