Kim Dong-yeon's 'Always Care' to be Fully Implemented Next Year... Childcare Allowance and Safe School Care, etc.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is attending the 'Population Talk Talk Committee' held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 6th and taking a commemorative photo with young children.

Gyeonggi Province will provide a ‘care allowance’ starting next year to grandparents, relatives within cousins, and neighbors who take care of children instead of their parents. Additionally, a pilot program called ‘Elementary Grade 1 School Safe Care’ will be launched to provide care within schools for first-grade elementary students.

On the 6th, Gyeonggi Province held the 5th Population Talk Talk Committee meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, attended by about 500 people including children, parents, and care teachers, to discuss the ‘Always Care’ implementation plan containing these details.

Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said, "There is a lot of talk about low birth rates in the Population Talk Talk Committee, but the goal is not to solve low birth rates; the goal should be family happiness, children’s happiness, and creating a positive social atmosphere. The problems of human life cannot be solved solely by policies from Gyeonggi Province or the central government. Society, awareness, and culture must change. Policies are fundamental, but I hope we can start by sincerely changing the social atmosphere together."

For ‘Always Care,’ Gyeonggi Province expanded the execution plan of child care policies discussed in the Population Talk Talk Committee to include ▲ establishment of an ‘Always (Emergency) Care’ system ▲ family care allowance ▲ child care community opportunity income ▲ support for caregivers of second children ▲ Elementary Grade 1 School Safe Care ▲ and Happy Meals for Children during school vacations in next year’s main budget. The Gyeonggi Provincial Council is currently reviewing the next year’s main budget proposal.

To establish the ‘Always (Emergency) Care’ system, Gyeonggi Province will operate a child care hotline call center and emergency care services.

For families in need of emergency care for children under 12 years old in the province, a one-stop service will be provided from consultation to facility and home care services, linked with weekend and weekday night care. The 300 Dahamkke Care Centers currently in operation will be increased to 500 by 2026 with additional support from Gyeonggi Province’s own budget.

Along with this, a plan to support family care allowances and child care community opportunity income for grandparents and neighbors who participate in caregiving as social families will also be promoted.

The family care allowance targets families who entrust children aged 24 to 48 months to grandparents, relatives within cousins, or neighbors due to various reasons such as parents’ dual-income or multiple children.

Expanding the target to neighbors is the first initiative by Gyeonggi Province. Depending on the number of infants, monthly support ranges from 300,000 to 600,000 KRW. The child care community opportunity income provides 200,000 KRW per person monthly to 64 child care communities created by village residents.

Support for the out-of-pocket expenses of the child care service was decided in the first Population Talk Talk Committee to provide up to 300,000 KRW for families with a second or subsequent child.

Safe care that parents can trust for elementary school students will also be implemented. ‘Elementary Grade 1 School Safe Care’ aims to solve the problem where parents have to retire or take leave due to a lack of care classrooms after their child enters first grade. It supports the operation of care classrooms within schools or newly established Dahamkke Care Centers for first-grade elementary students who need after-school care.

Gyeonggi Province plans to pilot the ‘Elementary Grade 1 School Safe Care’ in some cities and counties next year and then expand it to all cities and counties.

In addition, to support the care gap caused by the suspension of school meals during vacations, lunch meal expenses will be provided for 7,500 children using Dahamkke Care Centers in the province during school vacations.