‘A Child-Friendly Gyeongnam’ … Gyeongsangnam-do Invests 750 Billion Won in Creating a Childcare Environment

Gyeongnam Province held the Provincial Childcare Policy Committee meeting attended by parents, childcare experts, and others to review and approve the 2022 Gyeongnam Province Childcare Policy Implementation Plan, as well as the childcare fees and allowable expense limits for daycare centers.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 17th that it will invest 750 billion KRW this year to create a "child-friendly childcare environment."

Gyeongnam Province recently held a Childcare Policy Committee meeting to review and approve this year's childcare policy implementation plan, as well as the childcare fee and necessary expense collection limits for daycare centers.

In the childcare policy implementation plan, 511.3 billion KRW will be allocated to support customized childcare services by reducing parents' childcare costs, 151 billion KRW to expand childcare publicness and create a high-quality childcare environment, and 95.2 billion KRW to strengthen the professionalism and improve the treatment of childcare staff, totaling 757.5 billion KRW across these three areas.

The monthly collection limit for parents' childcare fees for children aged 3 to 5 in private and home daycare centers has been raised by 23,000 KRW compared to last year. However, since Gyeongnam Province has fully supported parents' childcare fees as free childcare since 2020, there is no actual increase in the fees parents pay.

The monthly collection limit for necessary expenses, such as in-kind purchases not included in childcare fees, has been increased by 14,000 KRW compared to last year. These increases will be implemented at each daycare center starting next month.

In addition, in response to the recent child abuse incident at a daycare center in the Yangsan area, the committee agreed to focus all efforts on preventing child abuse in daycare centers. Gyeongsangnam-do has instructed all cities and counties to conduct education for childcare staff on child abuse prevention, training for mandatory reporters of child abuse, and inspections of CCTV management. They also requested strengthening video monitoring and establishing internal plans to prevent child abuse in daycare centers.

A child abuse prevention guidebook for daycare centers has also been distributed, encouraging daycare center directors to directly conduct child abuse prevention education for childcare staff. When a child abuse report is received, the responsible public official will accompany the site visit and actively support the review of CCTV footage.

Furthermore, considering the diverse occupational characteristics of parents and childcare environments, "365-day 24-hour hourly childcare service providers" will be established in five locations: Changwon, Jinju, Gimhae, Geoje, and Yangsan, allowing childcare facilities to be used without time restrictions.

Children being raised at home can also use daycare centers on an hourly basis (4 hours per day) through the introduction of an "hourly childcare service," providing a customized childcare environment.

Lee Sang-hoon, Director of the Women's, Family, and Child Affairs Bureau of the province, said, "Childcare policy is a core policy that allows parents to entrust their children with peace of mind while working and raising excellent future citizens. We will do our best to create a safe childcare environment and fulfill the social responsibility of childcare."

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