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Mayor Park Heong-joon: “Beyond Free Childcare, We Will Take Responsibility for the Quality of Childcare” — Strengthening Specialized Supervision for Daycare Centers

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, announced that it will fully implement the “2026 Strengthened Operation of the Daycare Center Childcare Supervision Group” to enhance professionalism in childcare settings and provide the highest-quality programs for infants and young children.

Childcare Supervision Consultants play a leading role in driving qualitative growth in childcare settings by providing professional consulting on the operation of daycare center curricula, as well as on-site guidance to strengthen the capabilities of childcare staff.

In 2013, the City became the first in the nation to hire eight Childcare Supervision Consultants at the Busan Childcare Support Center, launching customized consulting services for daycare centers. This initiative has been recognized as the first case in the country in which a local government allocated its own budget to establish a permanent supervision support system staffed by specialized professionals.

A key element of this year’s plan is the transition from a consulting model limited to applicant institutions to a “universal supervision system based on participation by all daycare centers,” ensuring that every center can benefit from professional supervision services.

The City will focus on expanding “Busan-style Play-Centered Curriculum Consulting” to achieve a qualitative leap in child-centered childcare. Among the various consulting areas, this initiative has been selected as the top priority.

Busan-style Play-Centered Curriculum Consulting consists of BTS-Play (Busan Team Study with Play), a Busan-style play-learning community, along with ▲learning support ▲support for learning community operations ▲curriculum evaluation consulting.

The program will be actively expanded to daycare centers throughout the city to create a high-quality childcare environment where teachers and children can learn joyfully together. Childcare Supervisors will provide practice-oriented coaching directly on site and deliver customized consulting tailored to the unique characteristics of each daycare center.

In addition, the City will further strengthen intensive consulting for vulnerable childcare to serve as a reliable support system for daycare centers in crisis.

As challenges in the field have intensified due to the increase in children with disabilities and from multicultural backgrounds, as well as operational difficulties stemming from low birth rates, the City will significantly reinforce “Vulnerable Childcare and Crisis Response Consulting.”

For institutions experiencing difficulties in caring for children with developmental delays or from multicultural backgrounds, Childcare Supervision Consultants will visit on site to provide support. For centers facing management crises due to low birth rates, the City will assist in setting operational directions through environmental analysis. In exceptional crisis situations, such as incidents of child abuse, psychological counseling and staff meetings will be supported to minimize childcare gaps and enhance job stability.

The City will also introduce a “regional responsibility system,” under which eight Childcare Supervision Consultants will take responsibility for designated districts and counties, establishing a comprehensive management system with no blind spots.

Each designated consultant will be responsible for identifying and monitoring the status of facilities within their assigned area and will prioritize discovering centers that have not previously participated in consulting due to lack of information or other reasons. All daycare centers will receive supervision services at least once a year, and consulting—either on-site or non-face-to-face—will be flexibly provided based on self-assessment results.

Strong incentives will also be offered to encourage participation by daycare centers.

When public daycare centers are redesignated, additional points (up to two points) will be awarded based on consulting performance. Outstanding institutions and staff members will receive the Mayor’s commendation and certificates of completion. In addition, participation rates by district and county will be newly included as an indicator in childcare policy evaluations, further solidifying a cooperative childcare framework between the City and local governments.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “Following the realization of meaningful childcare welfare through the full implementation of free childcare for children aged three to five this year, we will elevate the quality of childcare that children experience to a new level by establishing a supervision system focused on Busan-style Play-Centered Curriculum Consulting.” He added, “We will do our utmost to ensure that children receive high-quality childcare services regardless of which daycare center they attend.”