A Public Postpartum Care Center to Open in Yongsan... Research Service Initiated

Yongsan-gu to Build Public Postpartum Care Center through Land Donation and Acceptance
Feasibility Study and Research Service Kickoff Meeting Held
Legal Amendments Proposed to Include Postpartum Care Centers as Public Infrastructure
District Mayor Park Heeyoung: "We Aim to Provide Tangible Support for Mothers"

Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) announced on the 21st that it has decided to officially begin the construction of a ‘public postpartum care center’ and held a kickoff meeting for the ‘Feasibility Study and Research Service for the Establishment and Operation of Yongsan-gu Public Postpartum Care Center’ at the district office on the 20th.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District (right), is sharing opinions with committee members at the kickoff briefing for the feasibility study on the establishment and operation of the Yongsan District Public Postpartum Care Center. Provided by Yongsan District.

This research service will be conducted over five months, focusing on analyzing the feasibility of establishing a public postpartum care center, selecting the optimal location for establishment, and detailing the basic plan for operational methods.

District Mayor Park Hee-young stated, “There has been analysis that the existing cash support method caused side effects such as an increase in fees for private postpartum care centers,” adding, “We conceived the introduction of a public postpartum care center to provide support that mothers can truly feel.” To support this, Yongsan-gu established a dedicated task force team for the construction of the public postpartum care center within the health center in November last year and began full-scale promotion.

Yongsan-gu, where more than two-thirds of the total area is under development or planned for development, has been pursuing a plan to receive donated land from developed areas for public facility use to build the postpartum care center. However, under current laws, postpartum care centers are not included as public infrastructure such as social welfare facilities or cultural and sports facilities, so donation and acceptance were not applicable. The district has continuously proposed amendments to the Seoul Metropolitan City Urban Planning Ordinance to include postpartum care centers as infrastructure to establish a legal basis for constructing public postpartum care centers through land donation and acceptance.

In September last year, the district submitted this proposal as an agenda item at the regular meeting of the Seoul Metropolitan District Mayors’ Council, and in January this year, it submitted a proposal for deregulation of autonomous districts in Seoul. The city accepted the proposal, giving momentum to the district’s childbirth support policy. The Seoul Metropolitan Council is also expected to initiate a legislative amendment in the first half of this year to actively respond to demographic changes such as low birth rates and aging population.

The kickoff meeting was attended by 14 people, including District Mayor Park Hee-young, the deputy mayor, the head of the health center, heads of related departments, external experts, and the research service agency. The meeting proceeded with reports on the research service provider’s plan for the project, detailed tasks and methods, and the project schedule.

District Mayor Park Hee-young said, “We will establish a safe and comfortable public postpartum care center for mothers and newborns so that they can receive high-quality postpartum care services without economic burden,” and added, “We will do our best to build the public postpartum care center, which has taken its first step with this research service.”