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Early Detection Matters: Mini Lecture Exhibition on Developmental Delay in Infants and Young Children to Open on December 1

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that, beginning December 1, Busan Metropolitan City will host the “2025 Mini Lecture Exhibition” to support infants and young children with developmental delays through the website of the Busan Comprehensive Welfare Center for Persons with Disabilities’ Our Child Development Support Team.

This mini lecture exhibition is part of the city’s “Our Child Development Support Project” and has been organized to widely promote the importance of early detection and intervention for developmental delays, as well as related support strategies. The event is co-hosted by the Busan Comprehensive Welfare Center for Persons with Disabilities’ Our Child Development Support Team and the Busan–Ulsan–Gyeongnam Regional Headquarters of the National Health Insurance Service.

The exhibition will be held in an online video lecture format and consists of two lectures. The first lecture focuses on “self-regulation,” and the second covers the “role of parents.” In Lecture 1, Professor Kang Je-uk of the Department of Psychiatry at Inje University Busan Paik Hospital will speak on self-regulation based on brain development. In Lecture 2, Professor Seo Bo-sun of the Department of Early Childhood Education at Dong-Eui University will deliver a lecture on the role of parents for infants and young children with developmental delays.

Any interested citizen can view the lectures freely without prior registration through the Our Child Development Support Team’s website: www.woorii114.org.

The lecture videos will be available from December 1 through March 1 of next year. For more information about the mini lecture exhibition, inquiries can be made to the Busan Comprehensive Welfare Center for Persons with Disabilities’ Our Child Development Support Team at 051-790-6149.

Lee Seung-hee, Director of the Busan Comprehensive Welfare Center for Persons with Disabilities, which operates the Our Child Development Support Project, stated that societal interest in supporting infants and young children with developmental delays continues to grow. She expressed hope that the lectures will help broaden understanding among parents and frontline teachers and strengthen their capacity to provide support, urging parents of infants and young children to actively participate.

Early intervention refers to comprehensive support—across medical, welfare, psychosocial, educational, and therapeutic domains—for infants and young children with developmental delays and their families who require special assistance. The importance of early detection and intervention and the need for urgent social response have continued to rise. Considering the plasticity of the brain, early intervention is evaluated as a core strategy not only for preventing disabilities but also for reducing long-term social costs.

According to statistics from the National Health Insurance Service’s Infant Health Checkup Program (2023), the nationwide proportion of infants and young children who were recommended for an in-depth developmental evaluation increased steadily from 1.8% in 2017 to 3.3% in 2023. In addition, 12.3% of all examinees were found to require follow-up evaluation, indicating a continuous increase in the number of infants and young children who need developmental monitoring and comprehensive assessment.

Since 2010, the city has provided funding to the Our Child Development Support Team to operate various programs for infants and young children with disabilities or at high risk of disability. In 2014, Busan Metropolitan City became the first in the nation to establish a “Disability Early Detection and Support System,” launching the full-scale implementation of the “Our Child Development Support Project.”

In 2025, to strengthen early detection for infants and young children with developmental delays, the city added one dedicated staff member to the Our Child Development Support Team. The team also formed a public–private governance system in cooperation with the Jeonpo and Yongho Community Welfare Centers and the Haeundae-gu Welfare Center for Persons with Disabilities to carry out regional early detection projects.

In addition, this month, the Our Child Development Support Team produced a promotional video that is being distributed through the city’s official YouTube channel, further enhancing public outreach efforts.

Jeong Tae-gi, Director General of the Social Welfare Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, noted the growing importance of early intervention for developmental delays. He expressed hope that many people will take interest in the exhibition and stated that the city will continue to strengthen various related programs and promotional initiatives.