Ministry of Health and Welfare and National Police Agency to Conduct Comprehensive Safety Survey for 3-Year-Old Children Starting This Month

30,819 Children Born in 2016 Surveyed... "Strict Punishment for Abuse Detection"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency announced on the 5th that they will conduct a full survey from October to December to confirm the whereabouts and safety of 3-year-old children born in 2016 and to support services necessary for improving their caregiving environment.

The government conducted the first full survey of 3-year-old children last year. Home visits were conducted for 29,084 children born in 2015, and welfare services such as welfare benefit applications were provided to 185 of these children.

This year’s full survey will focus on approximately 34,819 children being raised at home, including households receiving childcare allowances. Officials in charge of children and welfare at the Eup, Myeon, and Dong community centers will visit the children’s residences directly to confirm their whereabouts and safety, and plan to support welfare services necessary to improve the caregiving environment.

Children aged 3 who are enrolled in kindergartens or daycare centers are excluded from the survey, considering that the public childcare system functions as the primary social monitoring network.

In particular, this full survey is being promoted to more thoroughly investigate children at home and actively connect necessary services, taking into account the prolonged situation of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). If the whereabouts and safety of a child cannot be confirmed despite the efforts of the responsible officials, a police investigation will be conducted.

Kang Hwang-su, Director of the National Police Agency, stated, “Through the full survey of 3-year-old children, we will confirm the whereabouts and safety of children referred for investigation, strictly punish cases of abuse, and implement active child protection measures.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.