Pohang City Expands Care and Reduces Parental Burden... Creating a Stable Childcare Environment

Additional Installation of Emergency Hourly Childcare, Partial Support for Expenses

100% Full Coverage Support for Expanded Safety Mutual Aid Association Coverage

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Dong-guk] Pohang City is reducing the childcare burden on parents this year through demand-oriented customized childcare, as the importance of care increases due to low birth rates and diversification of family composition.

According to the city, as the number of births in Pohang has been continuously decreasing by about 200 each year, and the number of daycare centers has significantly decreased from 377 at the end of 2020 to 294 at the end of 2022, various support policies will be implemented this year to reduce the childcare burden on parents and improve the efficiency of daycare center operations.

Last year, Pohang City was the first in Gyeongbuk Province to provide a ‘Time-based Emergency Childcare Service’ for general infants and toddlers outside of normal daycare operating hours, and this year, it plans to add and operate one more center in the Nam-gu area.

The Time-based Emergency Childcare Service provides hourly childcare services during vulnerable times such as nights or weekends when childcare facilities cannot be used, minimizing childcare gaps and helping reduce parents’ childcare burdens.

The target users of the ‘Time-based Emergency Childcare Service’ are preschool children (6 months to under 5 years old) residing in Pohang. It operates by reservation, costs 4,000 KRW per hour, and can be used for up to 4 hours per day. Operating hours are weekdays from 6 PM to 10 PM, and Saturdays and public holidays from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Additionally, to improve the efficiency of daycare center operation support, the city plans to regularly deliver high-quality organic ingredients such as rice, eggs, and fruits to daycare centers every month without separate applications, thereby enhancing the quality of meals for children at daycare centers.

Along with this, to establish a compensation system for daycare center safety accidents, the city will expand coverage and significantly increase support amounts through direct enrollment in the Daycare Center Safety Mutual Aid Association.

Children's daycare educational activities.

Previously, for the mandatory enrollment items in the Daycare Center Safety Mutual Aid Association (life and bodily harm of infants and toddlers, sudden death), the city supported 50% of the enrollment fee after confirming individual enrollment for each daycare center. However, with an increase of 47 million KRW in city funds, a total budget of 86 million KRW has been secured, and the city will now fully cover 100% of the mandatory enrollment fees.

Furthermore, the city plans to strengthen safety-centered support by adding coverage for ▲playground facility liability ▲gas accident liability ▲fire (building) ▲fire liability special contract ▲and wind and flood damage special contract.

In addition, as a new project this year, the city will partially support necessary expenses such as daycare center admission preparation fees to reduce parents’ childcare costs, advance the deployment timing of child happiness helpers, and extend the support period for assistant teachers for pregnant teachers, continuing support for daycare center operations.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “We will strive to create a childcare environment tailored to demand so that children, the future of the region, can grow up healthily. We will eliminate blind spots in care to reduce parents’ childcare burdens and prepare various policies to boost the morale of childcare staff, thereby improving the efficiency of daycare center operations.”

Starting this year, Pohang City is providing parental allowances to families with children under 1 year old. For children aged 0 (0?11 months), 700,000 KRW is paid monthly, and for children aged 1 (12?23 months), 350,000 KRW is paid monthly when raising children.

When attending daycare centers, 186,000 KRW, the difference in daycare fees, is supported for 0-year-old children, and only the daycare fee is supported for 1-year-old children.