Emergency Support of 114 Million KRW for 120 Private and Home Daycare Centers Due to Prolonged COVID-19
...Direct Impact on Labor Costs and Decrease in Number of Children... Up to 2 Months of Subsidies, Maximum 2 Million KRW per Month Based on Number of Children
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Chae Hyun-il) is providing emergency operational subsidies totaling over 114 million KRW to 120 private and home daycare centers in the district that are facing operational difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the nationwide daycare center closure order on February 25, all 248 daycare centers in the district have been implementing emergency childcare services, participating in the government's 'social distancing' policy.
As COVID-19 has prolonged, private and home daycare centers are struggling to manage operations due to a shortage of labor costs and a decrease in the number of enrolled children.
In fact, while public daycare centers increased by 20 locations compared to 2018, with a 10% (552 children) increase in enrolled children, private and home daycare centers decreased by 32 locations over the past two years, with a 28.3% (1,368 children) reduction in enrollment.
Since the stable operation of daycare centers is directly linked to the quality of childcare, the district has prepared support measures to ensure children can receive education in a comfortable and safe environment.
The district calculated the 'current enrollment' and 'operational cost deficits' of 120 private and home daycare centers and will provide subsidies for the past two months of the ongoing COVID-19 situation by mid-April.
First, based on the number of enrolled children, support will be provided monthly as follows: △ up to 20 children - 300,000 KRW △ 21 to 50 children - 450,000 KRW △ 51 or more children - 600,000 KRW. However, daycare centers with no enrolled children or those scheduled to close are excluded from support.
Additionally, a total of approximately 25 million KRW in subsidies will be distributed differentially to compensate for the operational cost deficits of private and home daycare centers.
With this emergency support measure, private and home daycare centers will receive up to 4 million KRW, capped at 2 million KRW per month, and it is expected to provide a healthy childcare environment for children.
Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has increased operational difficulties for daycare centers. We will make every effort to ensure that children receive quality childcare in a safe environment.”
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