Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Wins Top Prize for Child Policy Implementation for Fourth Consecutive Year

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has achieved two major awards in the child policy sector by being selected as the Top Local Government in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “Evaluation of the Implementation of the Child Policy Action Plan” and as an Excellent Local Government in the “Child Policy Impact Assessment.”

In the “Evaluation of the Implementation of the Child Policy Action Plan,” the city ranked first for the fourth consecutive year, while in the “Child Policy Impact Assessment,” it received an award for the second consecutive year following last year’s top recognition.

The awards ceremony took place yesterday (December 8) at the Oak Valley Resort in Wonju, Gangwon-do, during the “13th Child Policy Forum,” where the head of the city’s Child and Youth Division presented Busan’s exemplary case in implementing the Child Policy Action Plan.

In the evaluation of the implementation of the Child Policy Action Plan, Busan and Incheon were selected as Top Local Governments, while Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk were named Excellent Local Governments.

The Child Policy Action Plan evaluation is conducted under Article 8 of the Child Welfare Act and assesses the performance of action plans implemented during the previous year, as evaluated by the Minister of Health and Welfare. Last year, under the vision of “Busan, a city where all children are happy and respected,” the city advanced 4 strategic objectives, 9 policy tasks, 24 key initiatives, and 339 detailed tasks. Busan earned high marks across all categories—appropriateness of plan establishment, fidelity of implementation, and achievement of outcomes—leading to its first-place ranking for four consecutive years since 2022.

In the Child Policy Impact Assessment (self-assessment), Busan and Incheon were selected as Excellent Metropolitan Local Governments, while among the nine districts recognized as Excellent Basic Local Governments, three were located in Busan: Seo-gu, Busanjin-gu, and Yeonje-gu.

The Child Policy Impact Assessment is conducted under Article 11-2 of the Child Welfare Act and enables local governments to independently evaluate the positive and negative impacts that various laws, plans, and projects—whether directly or indirectly related to children—may have on children and their rights. Busan expanded the scope of projects subject to self-assessment and encouraged assessments by districts and counties, contributing to the recognition of three districts within the city.

Last year (2024), linked to the goal of achieving “Busan, the No. 1 City for Children’s Quality of Life,” the city established its vision of becoming “the city where children are the happiest” and has been promoting a wide range of policies to improve children’s well-being. The city has opened a total of 107 “Deulrak-Nallak” Children’s Complex Cultural Spaces, which have recorded over two million cumulative visitors; implemented the nation’s first free public transportation system for children; and supported educational points for families with multiple children. Next year, the city plans to further solidify its status as the leading city in child policy by establishing the Busan AI Integrated Childcare Call Center and initiating construction on the Busan Children's Hospital.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “This recognition reflects our city’s continued efforts to make Busan a great place to raise children. Together with our citizens, we will build an integrated childcare city in which care, education, employment, and housing are interconnected throughout the child-rearing journey, and a child-friendly Busan where every child can proudly say, ‘I am a respected individual.’”