[Exclusive] "In Need of a Caregiver" but... 3 Out of 10 Unable to Use 'Emergency Child Care' Even After Applying

33.8% of Emergency Child Care Applications Not Matched This Year
Shortage of Public Child Care Service Providers

Recently, after two sisters who had been left at home without their parents in Busan died in succession, the issue of care gaps has come to the forefront. It has been revealed that even when applying for the 'emergency child care service,' 3 out of 10 applicants are unable to access the service.

According to data submitted by the office of Lee Yeonhee, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, which was received from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on July 14, out of 1,225 emergency care service applications between January and May of this year, only 810 cases were actually matched with the service. This means that 33.8% of applicants were not matched.

Yonhap News

Since last year, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has been piloting emergency and short-term care to alleviate care gaps caused by sudden business trips or overtime work, and from this year, it has reorganized and provided the service as an emergency care service. Even last year, the number of matches was lower than the number of applications. For emergency care, there were 5,761 applications but only 2,225 matches, resulting in a non-matching rate of 61.3%. For short-term care, there were 5,312 applications and 3,738 matches, with 29.6% failing to be matched.

The government-provided child care service is popular because it is less expensive than private care and is considered more credible, but there have been ongoing concerns that the number of caregivers is insufficient to meet demand. The average waiting period for the child care service was 8.3 days in 2020, 19.0 days in 2021, 27.8 days in 2022, 33.0 days in 2023, and 32.8 days in 2024. The lack of matches for emergency care services is also closely related to the shortage of caregivers. If there are no caregivers available who wish to provide care within two hours of the application time, the service is canceled. Matching is particularly difficult during vulnerable hours, such as at night, because caregivers tend to avoid working during these times.

Seok Jaeun, a professor at the Department of Social Welfare at Hallym University, stated, "Because this is a problem of insufficient supply of care workers, increasing the pay rate and utilizing private care agencies would ensure an adequate supply." He added, "However, if we consider vulnerable groups, a system in which the public sector hires personnel and allocates care services is also necessary." Previously, in April, the Child Care Support Act was passed by the National Assembly, establishing a legal basis for the management and support of private child care services that had previously been outside the institutional framework. Now, if private child care agencies meet certain legal requirements, they can register with the government, establishing a public management system.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has decided to launch a 'nighttime emergency care pilot project' in response to the incident in Busan. The ministry is planning measures to reduce the cost burden for low-income families who need child care services during late-night hours, including the introduction of incentives.