Lee Jae-myung: "We Will Actively Support Public Postpartum Care Centers for a Country Where Birth Is a Joy"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is holding a meeting via Zoom on the 9th with mothers and postpartum care center staff during his visit to the Yeoju Public Postpartum Care Center.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, promised to "create a country where birth is purely a joy" after visiting the 'Yeoju Public Postpartum Care Center,' the first of its kind nationwide that he established.

On the 9th, Lee posted on Facebook, "Today (the 9th), I visited Gyeonggi Province's first public postpartum care center in Yeoju," adding, "I checked to see if it has been operating well since its opening in 2019, which was a key project I promoted after taking office as governor."

He continued, "I also held a Zoom meeting with mothers," and said, "Although the cost is low, the facilities and services are good, resulting in high satisfaction and fierce competition for admission. It was a fulfilling day, but it also made me eager to establish more public postpartum care centers as soon as possible."

In particular, he emphasized the state's responsibility for birth and childcare, saying, "In the past, birth symbolized joy and hope, but now it has become a burden and pain. There is a saying that 'it takes a whole village to raise one child,' but now is the time for the state to take responsibility for childcare and upbringing."

Furthermore, he recalled, "When I was mayor of Seongnam, I pushed for an ordinance for free public postpartum care centers, but the opposition was severe under the Park Geun-hye administration," adding, "They were not asking the central government for money nor borrowing, but the attitude was like 'since others can't do it, you shouldn't either,' which was absurd."

He added, "At that time, even conservative groups in Seongnam urged the government to accept the installation of public postpartum care centers, and as support grew, the Park Geun-hye administration banned their installation in urban areas by law," and "Eventually, the policy had to be changed to support postpartum care expenses."

However, Lee emphasized, "After the launch of the 7th local government of Gyeonggi Province, we made the Yeoju Public Postpartum Care Center the first, and the Pocheon Public Postpartum Care Center is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year," adding, "Although progress is slow due to various interests involved, we will actively provide financial support to any of the remaining 29 cities and counties."

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