24 New Public and National Childcare Centers Added in Sejong This Year

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] This year, 24 new public daycare centers will be added in Sejong.

Sejong City announced on the 10th that by December, it will add public daycare centers including 20 newly established or converted daycare centers in apartment management offices, 1 newly built daycare center at the Dajeong-dong Complex Community Center, and 3 converted private or home daycare centers.

The city will first install public daycare centers in seven locations, including newly occupied complexes and apartment complexes without public daycare centers, and will publicly recruit consignment operators.

Individuals or organizations wishing to operate the centers on consignment can refer to the announcement posted on the city hall website and apply through the Women's and Family Division of City Hall for three days starting from the 27th.

Additionally, 13 apartment management office daycare centers that have applied for conversion to public daycare centers with the consent of more than 50% of residents will be converted to public centers sequentially after approval by the city council and selection of consignment operators.

The city also plans to install a public daycare center with a capacity of about 100 children at the 2-1 Living Zone Complex Community Center, which is scheduled for completion this month. The public daycare center within the center aims to open in the second half of this year.

The ‘Mujigae Daycare Center,’ which was the first in Sejong to receive approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare for conversion to a public daycare center through a long-term lease method, is scheduled to open in early May.

Furthermore, the city will expand small-scale public childcare facilities focused on infants so that women with young children can engage in social activities with peace of mind. Small-scale public childcare facilities will be operated by selecting two suitable facilities among home daycare centers operating in privately owned buildings that have applied for public conversion, with the city leasing the buildings free of charge for 10 years.

The city will also support interior remodeling work, equipment, teaching materials, and educational tools to ensure the safety of infants and toddlers using public facilities and to create a comfortable childcare environment.

Oh Jeong-seop, head of the Women's and Family Division of the city, said, “We will do our best to gradually expand public daycare centers to revitalize public childcare and create a childcare environment that satisfies both children and parents.”