Gyeonggi-do provides 100,000 won per month childcare for foreign children aged 0-5

Starting this year, Gyeonggi-do decided to invest 11 billion won (2.5 billion won for provincial expenses and 8.5 billion won for city and military expenses) to support childcare fees for foreign children aged 0 to 5 at childcare centers in the province by 100,000 won per month.

Infants aged 3-5 (5095 persons) are paid from January, and infants aged 0-2 (4902 persons) are paid from March after relevant ordinance revisions. Gyeonggi-do is the first local government in the country to support childcare costs for foreign children aged 0-5.

Incheon Metropolitan City provides 280,000 won per month to children aged 5 and Gwangju Metropolitan City to children aged 3 to 5.

Among the basic local governments in Gyeonggi-do, five cities, including Ansan, Siheung, Gimpo, Gunpo, and Pocheon, support childcare fees for foreign children aged 0-5, and Bucheon City supports childcare fees for foreign children aged 3-5, the amount of support differs from 50,000 to 180,000 won by city and age.

These basic local governments will save their own budget as much as the provincial support. In the case of Korean children, childcare costs are subsidized by the national and local government subsidies.

0-2 years old 375,000-514,000 won, 3-5 years old 280,000 won.

The criteria for application is that both the guardian (one person) and the child must live in Gyeonggi-do. In addition, they must have lived in the province for more than 90 days, and both guardians and infants must not have passed the visa period.

The support method is the same as for Koreans, and foreign parents pay with the Kookmin Happiness Card, and the money is deposited into the daycare center.

However, this support for childcare for foreign children ran into an unexpected obstacle.

On February 8, the Economic and Labor Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council withheld the 'partially amended ordinance to support foreign residents', and the amendment to prepare a basis for childcare expenses of 100,000 won per month to support children of foreign residents' families was canceled.

But it doesn't seem to be a big problem.

An official from Gyeonggi-do Child Care Policy Division said, "The 'foreign child care fee support' project cost has already been discussed and deliberated by the parliamentary standing committee and the preliminary decision committee and passed the plenary session." “However the problem is that the revised ordinance has not been passed, but I think the amendment will definitely pass in the next parliament,” he said.

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