“Gangnam Charges 15 Million Won for 2 Weeks” Up to 10x Price Gap in Postpartum Care Center Standard Rooms

Shin Jeong-hoon "Personal Postpartum Care Gaps Must Be Addressed by Expanding Public Postpartum Care Centers"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] It has been revealed that postpartum care center fees vary by up to 10 times depending on the region.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Shin Jeong-hoon, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the average fee for postpartum care centers nationwide in the first half of this year was 2.96 million KRW for a two-week stay in a standard room.

By region, the average fee in Seoul was 4 million KRW, while Jeonbuk was 1.9 million KRW and Jeonnam was 1.84 million KRW, showing a gap of more than twice. Looking at the highest and lowest fees among postpartum care centers nationwide, the highest was at A Postpartum Care Center in Gangnam, Seoul, where the two-week standard room fee reached 15 million KRW. In contrast, the fee at B Postpartum Care Center in Cheongju, Chungbuk was 1.5 million KRW, resulting in a 10-fold difference.

Due to the declining birth rate, the total number of postpartum care centers is also decreasing. The total number of postpartum care centers dropped from 598 in 2017 to 493 this year, a decrease of 105 centers.

However, during the same period, Sejong, Jeonnam, and Gangwon saw an increase of 2 to 5 centers. It is analyzed that the expansion of public postpartum care centers had a significant impact in Jeonnam and Gangwon. Representative Shin said, "In a situation where the majority of mothers use postpartum care centers, disparities based on region, income, and family circumstances are unfair," adding, "Public postpartum care centers should be expanded nationwide to eliminate individual postpartum care disparities, and active support and consideration at the central government level are necessary for this."

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