Gyeonggi Province is promoting 41 tasks to address the changing childcare environment, including the creation of more than 170 public daycare centers annually through to 2026 and increasing the number of daycare centers for children less than a year old from the current 320 to 380 by 2027.

On February 7, Gyeonggi Province announced that it will establish the 4th Gyeonggi Province Mid- to Long-term Child Care Development Plan (2023-2027), which includes this content, for implementation from this year.

This childcare development plan reflects trends such as changes in the childcare environment (family diversity, low birth rate, etc.) and diversification of consumer needs (vulnerable childcare, niche childcare, etc.). The plan consists of a total of 41 tasks with the following four objectives: realization of childcare that respects the rights of infants; respect for the rights of childcare teachers and strengthening their capabilities; strengthening the childcare capabilities of all caregivers; expanding the public childcare base and improving the quality of childcare. In the planning section, research results pertaining to the establishment of a mid- to long-term childcare development plan, policy requests from parents, childcare teachers, and daycare center directors, and field opinions from private experts as well as cities and counties were also reflected.

First, Gyeonggi Province will expand the number of public daycare centers from the current 1,300 by more than 170 every year through to 2026, raising the public childcare utilization rate in the province from 34% to 50% by 2026.

Of particular note, starting this year, new projects will be promoted to expand public childcare infrastructure, including support for the cost of converting an existing daycare center in an apartment into a public daycare center (KRW 120 million) and support for opening preparation funds for the initial establishment of a public daycare center (KRW 20 million).

As a policy to provide “fairer opportunities for childcare,” starting this year, KRW 100,000 per month will be provided in support for the childcare fees of foreign children registered at daycare centers in Gyeonggi Province. In the case of foreign children, childcare fees were differentiated and subsidized according to the region of residence or financial institutions such as kindergartens and daycare centers.

In order to expand “better childcare opportunities,” the number of daycare centers exclusively for children less than a year old will be expanded through a special Gyeonggi project from 320 in 2022 to 380 by 2027 so as to improve the teacher-to-child ratio per a pledge made by the current provincial administration during recent local elections. A daycare center exclusively for children less than a year old is a facility that reduces the teacher-to-child ratio to 1:2 (less than a year old) or 1:3 (1-year-old) for infants who need attentive childcare.

In addition, Gyeonggi Province will strengthen the management quality of existing private and home daycare centers. From 2023, new private daycare centers and home daycare centers will each be provided with KRW 2 to 3 million for environmental improvements that upgrade outdated childcare facilities. The labor cost subsidy for private and home nursery school cooks will also increase from KRW 300,000 per month to KRW 400,000 per month.

Jee Ji-yeon, Director General of Gyeonggi Province’s Women and Family Bureau, said, “Due to the low birth rate, the number of children attending daycare centers is decreasing, while the needs of consumers, including parents, are gradually diversifying… Through life-oriented policies included in the mid- to long-term plan, we will create a childcare environment in which Gyeonggi Province’s infants and toddlers can enjoy more, fairer, and better opportunities without discrimination in terms of residential areas and financial facilities.”