Gwangju Seo-gu Council Urges Improvement of the Three Reserved Integration Laws Amendment Proposal

Assemblyman Kim Su-young points out "Contradiction in shifting budget responsibility solely to local governments"

On the 25th, the Gwangju Seo-gu Council announced the "Resolution Urging Improvement of the Amendment to the Three Laws on Kindergarten Integration." Photo by Gwangju Seo-gu Council

The Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City (Chairman Jeon Seung-il) announced the "Resolution Urging Improvement of the Amendment to the Three Laws on Childcare Integration" proposed by Representative Kim Soo-young at the first plenary session of the 327th regular meeting on the 25th.

Representative Kim Soo-young stated, "Although the amendment bills to the three laws related to childcare integration (the Infant and Toddler Care Act, the Local Education Finance Grant Act, and the Act on Local Education Autonomy) have been announced for legislative notice, there are many unreasonable parts." He criticized, "It has been a year since the government announced the childcare integration promotion plan in January 2023, but due to disagreements between local governments and education offices over financial transfer issues, there is severe confusion and anxiety on the ground."

Kim said, "In this amendment, responsibility for childcare affairs and overall finances is transferred to the education office, making the education office the administrative subject, yet the budget must be borne by the local government, creating a contradiction." He added, "This violates Article 137 (Operation of Sound Finance) of the Local Autonomy Act."

Furthermore, he pointed out, "The amendment's supplementary provisions state that district office-owned national and public daycare centers will be donated free of charge to the education office, and the Korea Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads has recognized the problems with this amendment and submitted an opinion letter."

In response, all members of the Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City urged the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's Ministry of Education and city/provincial education offices to establish a childcare integration management system centered on the education offices.