Pohang City Opens 'Child Counseling Center' to Prevent Abuse Victims

Stepwise Public Transfer of Child Abuse 'Case Assessment Tasks'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] On the 4th, Pohang City opened a child counseling room by utilizing a spare space within Pohang City Hall.

When a child abuse report is received, on-site investigations and case judgment meetings are conducted targeting the victimized child, the perpetrator, and surrounding individuals. However, Pohang City explained that since there was no suitable space within City Hall, they had been using the counseling room of a private organization, the Child Protection Agency.

The newly opened Pohang City Child Counseling Room is approximately 70㎡ in size. With national government support, soundproofing construction was carried out in the spare space within City Hall, equipping it with two counseling rooms and one children's playroom. Emergency bells and CCTV were installed to prepare for emergency situations.

Additionally, the child counseling room will be used for ▲ investigation and counseling of abused children and perpetrators ▲ counseling for children requiring protection ▲ case judgment meetings ▲ and other consultations requiring confidentiality.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang City stated, "With the goal of fully implementing the publicization of child abuse work in 2022, we will do our best to protect children and prevent child abuse along with immediate on-site response when child abuse is reported."

Meanwhile, in line with the promotion of publicization of child abuse response, Pohang City established a Child Protection Team on July 9 last year and is gradually and stepwise transferring child abuse investigation tasks and case judgment duties, previously performed by the private Child Protection Agency, to public management with the goal of full publicization in January 2022.