Ministry of Health and Welfare

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Kwon Deok-cheol) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Noh Hyeong Ouk) signed an MOU to promote the expansion of railroad daycare centers using idle spaces in railway stations to strengthen public childcare and alleviate the burden of childcare on working parents. The signing took place on February 21 at a conference room in Sejong Government Complex Building 6.

Railway daycare center construction project is about installing national/public daycare centers using idle spaces in railway stations to alleviate the burden of childcare on working parents commuting to and from work using the railway.

The Minister of Health and Welfare and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport attended the agreement ceremony and discussed the role of each institution for the expansion of railway daycare centers before the joint signing.

Through the signing of this agreement, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will provide idle spaces within railway stations free of charge, while the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments will share the cost of installation required to build the railway daycare centers. The Korea National Railway will bear some other installation costs.

The railroad daycare center will be operated by the local government as a national/public daycare center. After the daycare center is built, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and local governments plan to support part of the labor costs required to operate the railroad daycare center.

National and public daycare centers built as railroad daycare centers are highly preferred by parents. The centers will provide childcare services for children with disabilities and children of multicultural background.

The railroad daycare center using the idle space of the railway station is receiving great reviews from train-commuting parents of infants and young children and local residents.

As a pilot project in March 2019, the first railway daycare center in Korea opened at Pyeongnaehopyeong Station on the Gyeongchun Line (located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do), and the preference of working parents who use the railway to commute to and from work is quite high.

Three additional railroad daycare centers in Haengsin Station, Tanhyeon Station, and Yeoju Station are expected to open in the first half of 2022.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plan to build additional railway daycare centers in seven regions by further strengthening the cooperative system after the signing of the MOU for railway daycare.

Additional construction plans are in place for Osong Station, Wolgot Station, Geoje Station, Jeongeup Station, Icheon Station, Jaesong Station, Geojehaemaji Station.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol and Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyeong Ouk said, "It is very meaningful that national and public daycare centers in the railway station will be built so that parents can safely entrust their children on their commute to and from work," and further added, “Starting with the agreement between the two ministries today, we plan to actively cooperate so that the railroad daycare centers can be further expanded.”


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