Ahn Cheol-soo Plans to Establish Low-Cost, High-Quality 'Gonggongsanhujoriwon' in 25 Districts of Seoul

Childcare Leave Allowance, Minimum Wage Level Support Subsidy
Increase Public National and Public Childcare Centers Ratio to 50%

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Joon-yi] Ahn Cheol-soo, the People's Party candidate for Seoul mayor, announced a pledge to establish ‘public postpartum care centers’ in each of the 25 districts of Seoul and to increase the proportion of public daycare centers to 50%. He also promised to introduce Seoul-style parental leave allowances to reduce the gap between parental leave benefits and the minimum cost of living.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 11th, Candidate Ahn announced childcare pledges under the name ‘A Seoul Good for Raising Children’ at the National Assembly. Ahn stated, "We will expand postpartum care centers, currently only available in Songpa-gu, to all 25 autonomous districts to reduce economic burdens." He added, "The average two-week usage fee at the public postpartum care center operated in Songpa-gu is 2 million KRW, which is about half the average fee of private postpartum care centers, yet satisfaction with various program contents and facilities is high. Seoul City will provide high-quality postpartum care services while reducing economic burdens," pledging his commitment.

He also promised to increase the proportion of public daycare centers, currently at about 33%, to 50%. Ahn said, "We will expand public daycare centers that parents can trust and increase the utilization rate of children to 50%, and also expand public kindergartens. In the process of re-commissioning public daycare centers and kindergartens, if child abuse or misconduct is discovered, we will strictly manage them with a one-strike-out policy," he pledged.

Ahn also promised Seoul-style parental leave allowances. He pointed out that the current parental leave allowance, which is up to 1,125,000 KRW (for the first 3 months) and about 900,000 KRW (for 4 to 12 months), is below the minimum cost of living, and pledged to pay up to 300,000 KRW for 3 months and then continue payments for 6 months.

He also promised to expand infant-only daycare centers and ‘365 Open Daycare Centers’ that provide 24-hour temporary childcare, increasing the number from the current 4 to 25.

Additionally, Candidate Ahn pledged ▲ free rotavirus vaccinations ▲ eco-friendly free meals in kindergartens ▲ Seoul-style full-day smart schools ▲ introduction of a hiring system for career-interrupted women as substitutes during parental leave ▲ expanded support for infertility treatment costs for couples.

Previously, Ahn had pledged a grandchild care allowance for grandparents who take care of their grandchildren.

Ahn said, "We need to change the perspective from low birthrate policies to youth happiness policies and innovate from the very first thought in policy design. Until the youth of Seoul become happy, we will meticulously design a social service system responsible for youth job creation, housing stability and welfare, and childcare, and promote comprehensive youth happiness policies that address the issues of sole parenting, career-interrupted women, and nurture Seoul’s children into competent talents for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era."

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