Incheon City to Increase Public Childcare Centers by 73... Expanding Part-Time Childcare as Well

Incheon City announced on the 20th that it will increase the number of public childcare centers, including national and public institutions, by more than 73 this year and expand part-time childcare services.

To create a safe childcare environment, the city plans to increase the number of public childcare centers to 732, including 381 national public centers, 199 Incheon-type centers, and 152 public-type centers. Until last year, Incheon operated 659 public childcare centers, including 340 national public centers, 187 Incheon-type centers, and 132 public-type centers.

Public childcare centers are facilities where Incheon City supports childcare teachers' salaries and operating expenses to provide high-quality childcare services. As of the end of last year, the utilization rate of public childcare was 40.3%, and the city plans to raise it to 50% by 2026. In particular, the number of national public childcare centers, which are the most preferred by parents, will be increased to 456 by 2026.

Incheon City plans to convert more than 100 private and home childcare centers that close annually due to low birth rates into national public centers and provide various benefits to improve childcare quality.

The city also plans to designate 20 new public-type childcare centers in the second half of this year to increase the utilization rate of public childcare. Once designated as a public-type childcare center, each center receives about 80 million KRW annually in operating expenses and cooking staff salaries from Incheon City and the district or county.

Incheon Public-Type Daycare Center Signboard

Incheon-type childcare centers, which provide a comfortable childcare environment by lowering the teacher-to-child ratio, will designate more than 12 new centers this year, and 108 centers with expired validity will undergo re-designation procedures. Starting with a new designation announcement this month, applications will be accepted in April, and after reviews by Incheon City and the relevant district or county, the selection results will be announced at the end of June. Designated Incheon-type childcare centers receive an initial one-time environmental improvement fund and more than 33 million KRW annually in operating expenses per center.

Part-time childcare, which allows parents who care for their children at home to use childcare centers only during desired hours, will also be expanded this year. Last year, part-time childcare was provided in 52 classes at childcare centers, but this year it is expected to increase to 118 classes, about double the previous number.

The usage fee is 5,000 KRW per hour, and families receiving home care allowances or parental benefits only pay 2,000 KRW per hour. The usage hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday for independent classes, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for integrated classes. Independent classes care only for part-time childcare children, while integrated classes operate part-time childcare for unfilled quotas in regular childcare classes.

Si Hyun-jung, Director of the Women and Family Bureau of Incheon City, said, "By 2026, we will ensure that more than half of all childcare children use public childcare centers," adding, "We will also improve accessibility to childcare centers offering part-time childcare to provide high-quality parenting services."

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