Namyangju City Wins Presidential Award at the 15th Children’s Safety Awards

Certified as the Top Child Safety City
Among 226 Local Governments Nationwide

On December 18, Namyangju City in Gyeonggi Province received the highest honor in the category of outstanding local government practices for preventing child safety accidents-the Presidential Award-at the 15th Children’s Safety Awards held at the Bankers Club in Seoul.

Kim Kwangyong, Director of the Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (left), and Hong Jiseon, Deputy Mayor of Namyangju City, are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Namyangju City

The Children’s Safety Awards, hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and sponsored by Naeil Newspaper and TakTinNaeil, is a prestigious government commendation that evaluates child safety policies of local governments nationwide and selects and awards exemplary cases. Only four local governments across the country are selected for this honor.

Beginning with its application in August, Namyangju City underwent a four-stage evaluation process: the first document review, on-site inspection, public voting, and a second presentation review. Among 226 local governments nationwide, Namyangju City was ultimately confirmed as a Presidential Award recipient.

To prevent child safety accidents, the city has implemented a variety of initiatives, including expanding experiential safety spaces, improving school routes, providing play-based safety education, and conducting thorough facility inspections.

Notably, the city installed four “Kids Stations”-safe waiting areas equipped with heating and cooling systems, CCTV, and vehicle notification systems-to secure protected spaces for children. In addition, pedestrian safety was enhanced by expanding school routes and creating bypass roads around schools such as Toegyewon Elementary School and Onam Elementary School.

At the Children’s Vision Center, a “Life Safety Experience Room” was established to provide play-based safety education, and safety festivals for infants and toddlers contributed to the development of everyday safety habits. Furthermore, “Dad’s First Aid Training” and a year-round playground inspection system were introduced to strengthen crisis response capabilities and facility safety.

Regular and ad hoc inspections were conducted at 440 daycare centers, and joint inspections of school buses were carried out, with 100% enrollment in the Safety Mutual Aid Association completed. The city also fully subsidized CCTV rental fees and electrical safety inspection costs to ensure a safe childcare environment.

In addition, safety campaigns for school commutes were actively conducted in 16 towns and districts, involving collaboration between civil society, government, police, and educational institutions. Efforts were also made to promote a culture of everyday safety in partnership with citizens.

This award is a recognition of the city’s ongoing policies and citizen engagement efforts to create an urban environment where children can grow up safely.

Deputy Mayor Hong Jiseon stated, “This Presidential Award is a valuable achievement jointly created by the administration and citizens. Going forward, we will further systematize child safety-centered policies and continuously expand prevention-focused governance in collaboration with the local community, so that every child in our city can grow up safely and happily.”