Yeongdeungpo-gu to Provide 1 Million Won Each to 199 Public, Private, and Home Daycare Centers

Emergency Support for Daycare Operating Costs Amid Prolonged COVID-19... Differential 10% Support for Unpaid Childcare Fees at 58 Daycares Serving Foreign Children

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) announced that it has allocated an emergency supplementary budget of 235 million KRW to provide subsidy support for daycare centers struggling due to prolonged closures caused by COVID-19.

Operational difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19 and unpaid childcare fees from foreign children caused by low attendance rates have created significant gaps in the employment of daycare staff and the childcare environment.

Currently, all public, private, and home daycare centers are experiencing operational difficulties due to prolonged closures, making financial support urgent to stabilize childcare teachers' employment and improve meals and snacks for smooth childcare service provision.

Additionally, foreign children do not receive government childcare support, so parents bear the full cost of childcare fees. This has led to a continuous increase in unpaid childcare fees due to decreased attendance and reduced use of daycare centers in areas densely populated by foreigners, causing serious operational disruptions.

Accordingly, the district conducted a full survey of unpaid childcare fees for foreign children at daycare centers from August last year to January this year and prepared a supplementary budget for emergency support.

The allocated budget totals 235 million KRW and was fully disbursed by early April this year.

A total of 199 daycare centers received support: 83 public, 44 private, and 72 home daycare centers, each receiving 1 million KRW in operational support funds.

Daycare centers serving foreign children were supported with amounts corresponding to 10% of the actual unpaid childcare fees, with differential payments ranging from a minimum of 24,000 KRW to a maximum of 3.15 million KRW.

All support funds are intended to be used for maintaining staff employment, purchasing teaching materials and tools, improving meals and snacks, and COVID-19 prevention activities to normalize childcare operations.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “I sincerely hope this emergency support will provide practical help to childcare facilities facing financial difficulties. We will continue to do our best to prepare effective measures and create a trustworthy childcare environment to prevent any childcare gaps.”

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