"Leave Your Child Anytime" Icheon City's '24-Hour Childcare Center' Opens on the 29th

Gyeonggi-do's First Year-Round 24-Hour Operation

Gyeonggi-do Icheon City announced on the 19th that it will start operating the 'Icheon City 24-Hour Childcare Center,' which provides childcare services 24 hours a day, year-round, starting from the 29th. This is the first childcare service introduced among local governments in Gyeonggi-do.

Unlike general childcare facilities where children can only be left during specific hours, the 'Icheon City 24-Hour Childcare Center' operates 24 hours a day, year-round. This means parents can urgently leave their children during nighttime hours when there is usually a childcare gap. There are no eligibility criteria such as parental income, so any Icheon citizen can use the service.

Children from infants to 12 years old are eligible for care, and professional childcare teachers are on standby 24 hours at the center. To improve accessibility, the center is located next to the Icheon City Hall.

The usage fee is also affordable at 1,000 KRW per hour. During the pilot operation period, services can be used by visiting in person or making a phone reservation. From April, the city plans to accept online reservation applications through its website.

The center's operation is entrusted to the social welfare foundation, Welcome Welfare Foundation. Previously, the city selected the Welcome Welfare Foundation as the entrusted institution and signed a business agreement to operate the center for three years until February 2026.

The Welcome Welfare Foundation is a social welfare corporation established in 2022 by Welcome Financial Group, which owns affiliates such as Welcome Savings Bank, to support the healthy growth of children and adolescents.

Kim Kyung-hee, mayor of Icheon City, said, "We will do our best to successfully operate the center to create a child-friendly childcare city and contribute to overcoming the low birthrate."