Changwon Mayor Kang Ki-yun poses for a photo after the city received renewed Child-Friendly City certification from UNICEF Korea. [South Gyeongsang Province]
Changwon Mayor Kang Ki-yun poses for a photo after the city received renewed Child-Friendly City certification from UNICEF Korea. [South Gyeongsang Province]

Changwon has received renewed Child-Friendly City certification from UNICEF Korea.

The city said Thursday it received the certificate and commemorative plaque from UNICEF Korea. The recertification extends international recognition of Changwon's efforts to promote children's rights and advance child-centered policy for another four years.

Since earning its first certification in 2021, the city has built an administrative framework that incorporates children's voices — revising child-related ordinances, holding roundtable forums with child participants, and operating a children's assembly. The latest comprehensive review gave high marks to the city's policy efforts in securing meaningful child participation.

Changwon plans to use the recertification as a springboard to accelerate its second-phase master plan for developing a child-friendly city. The city intends to expand channels for children to engage in policymaking through schools, while overhauling its care, education and safety-net systems to deliver policies that residents can feel directly.

"This recertification proves that Changwon's child policy has established itself as a sustainable model," Mayor Kang Ki-yun said. "We will build a city where every child is respected and can grow up safely."


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