Gyeonggi-do to Establish Over 170 Public and National Childcare Centers Annually... Public Childcare Rate Reaches 50%

Graphic Materials for Gyeonggi-do's 4th Mid- to Long-term Childcare Plan

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will implement 41 projects to respond to the changing childcare environment, including creating more than 170 public and national daycare centers annually until 2026 and increasing the number of daycare centers exclusively for infants aged 0 from the current 320 to 380 by 2027.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 7th that it has established and will implement the "4th Gyeonggi Province Mid- to Long-term Childcare Development Plan (2023?2027)" starting this year, which contains these details.

This childcare development plan reflects trends such as family diversity, low birth rates, vulnerable childcare, and diversified demands from users such as gap childcare, and consists of four goals and a total of 41 tasks: ▲ Realizing childcare that respects the rights of infants and toddlers ▲ Respecting the rights and strengthening the capabilities of childcare staff ▲ Enhancing the childcare capabilities of all caregivers ▲ Expanding the public childcare foundation and improving childcare quality.

During the plan formulation process, research results such as the "Study for Establishing a Mid- to Long-term Childcare Development Plan," policy demand surveys from parents, childcare staff, and daycare center directors, as well as opinions from private experts and local governments were reflected.

First, to provide "more childcare opportunities" to children in the province, the number of public and national daycare centers will be expanded by more than 170 annually until 2026. Currently, there are about 1,300 public and national daycare centers in the province. If the plan is implemented as scheduled, the utilization rate of public childcare will increase from the current 34% to 50% by 2026.

Starting this year, to resolve the imbalance in daycare center supply and demand between regions, existing daycare centers in apartment complexes will be converted into public and national daycare centers. The support fund is 120 million KRW. Additionally, when establishing new public and national daycare centers, 20 million KRW will be provided as opening preparation funds.

As a policy to provide "more equitable childcare opportunities," starting this year, the province will also pay a monthly childcare fee of 100,000 KRW to foreign children enrolled in daycare centers within the province. Until now, there has been discrimination in childcare fee support depending on the child's residence area or the institution they attend, such as kindergartens or daycare centers.

Furthermore, to spread "better childcare opportunities," the province will expand the number of 0-year-old exclusive daycare centers, a unique project of the province aimed at improving the "teacher-to-child ratio," from 320 in 2022 to 380 in 2027. These centers reduce the teacher-to-child ratio to 1:2 for 0-year-olds or 1:3 for 1-year-olds, providing meticulous care for infants aged 0 to 1 who require special attention.

In addition, the province will strengthen quality management of existing private and home daycare centers. From 2023, environmental improvement funds of 2 to 3 million KRW per center will be provided to newly registered private and home daycare centers.

Moreover, the monthly wage support for cooks at private and home daycare centers will be increased from 300,000 KRW to 400,000 KRW.

Ji Joo-yeon, Director of the Women's and Family Bureau of the province, said, "While the number of children attending daycare centers is decreasing due to the low birth rate, the demands of users such as parents are becoming increasingly diverse. Through the life-centered policies included in the mid- to long-term plan, we will create a childcare environment where infants and toddlers in the province can enjoy more, more equitable, and better opportunities without discrimination based on their residence area or the facilities they attend."

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