Incheon City to Operate Childcare Services Normally During Lunar New Year Holidays... Holiday Surcharge Exempted

Incheon City announced on the 14th that it will operate the 'Childcare Service' normally from the 28th to the 30th during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday period to support families who have difficulty caring for their children, such as dual-income and single-parent families.

The Childcare Service is a government-supported program that provides childcare services by sending caregivers to families with children under 12 years old who experience childcare gaps due to reasons such as both parents working.

Families using the service receive partial fee support based on income criteria, and during this Lunar New Year holiday, the holiday fee surcharge (50%) will be waived, reducing the burden on users.

Starting this year, the government expanded the support target from households with income below 150% of the median income to those below 200% of the median income to reduce childcare costs. Additionally, the support rate for households with income between 120% and 150% of the median income and households with elementary school children (ages 6 to 12) has been increased.

Along with this, the basic childcare allowance for caregivers has also been raised by 5%, from 10,110 KRW to 10,590 KRW per hour starting this year.

Incheon City announced that it will operate the childcare service normally for dual-income and single-parent families during the Lunar New Year holiday period. Provided by Incheon City

Meanwhile, as part of the 'Incheon-type i+Childcare Customized Support' pilot project, the infant care allowance, which Incheon City had been supporting independently since August last year, has been converted into a government-supported program starting this year, providing an additional allowance of 1,500 KRW per hour during infant care.

Incheon City is further expanding customized childcare services for dual-income families by providing a monthly activity incentive allowance of 30,000 KRW to caregivers who work more than 60 hours per month, and an additional allowance of 1,000 KRW per hour during early morning (06:00?08:00) and late evening (20:00?22:00) hours.

The Childcare Service can be applied for through the Bokjiro website or the local administrative welfare center. However, online applications are only available for dual-income couples (both parents enrolled in workplace health insurance) and single-parent families (workplace insurance subscribers).

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will continue to make efforts to ease the fee burden so that there is no childcare gap during the Lunar New Year holiday and to create an environment where parents can work and care for their families with peace of mind."

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