Gyeongbuk Office of Education to Provide Free Monthly Childcare Subsidy of 35,000 Won for Three-Year-Olds at Daycare Centers Starting Next Year

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education (Superintendent Lim Jong-sik) announced on December 24 that, starting in 2026, it will provide free childcare subsidies of 35,000 won per month for each three-year-old child attending daycare centers in the province.

This initiative is a proactive policy designed to address potential disparities in support between different institutions during the process of integrating early childhood education and care, and to ensure the stable implementation of the government's phased free education and childcare policy at the local level.

Gyeongbuk Office of Education

The Gyeongbuk Office of Education is focusing its policy on minimizing differences in the level of educational and childcare support depending on the type of institution children attend.

Accordingly, from 2026, by providing a monthly free childcare subsidy of 35,000 won to three-year-old children attending daycare centers, the office aims to reduce the gap in support levels between kindergartens and daycare centers and to lay the foundation for the integration of early childhood education and care.

Notably, this program is separate from the Ministry of Education's free childcare subsidy policy for daycare centers and is being implemented in line with the policy direction of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education. It is recognized as an independent policy that complements central government initiatives while reflecting local circumstances and the needs of the field.

Through this free childcare subsidy, the Gyeongbuk Office of Education plans to reduce the financial burden on families using daycare centers, enhance operational stability in the childcare sector, and support all three-year-old children-regardless of whether they attend kindergartens or daycare centers-in receiving high-quality early childhood education and care in a more stable environment. The office expects that this will establish an institutional foundation for the integration of early childhood education and care and increase parents' satisfaction with the policy.

Lim Jong-sik, Superintendent of the Gyeongbuk Office of Education, stated, "It is important to guarantee an equal starting line for all children and to establish an education and care system centered on the child, not the institution." He added, "We will continue to respond proactively to the changing educational policy environment and steadily build a stable support system for early childhood education."