'10-year-old criteria to be reviewed for fairness, rationality'

'Amendment to Maternal and Child Health Act enforcement decree under review'

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the second plenary session of the National Life Safety Committee at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the second plenary session of the National Life Safety Committee at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday that a social media post President Lee Jae Myung published Wednesday on local governments' postnatal care center policies was intended to call for improvements to the priority-access system — making it fairer and more rational so that all families with newborns can find the support system equitable.

Presidential Secretary for Population Policy Lim Ho-geun announced the position in a notice issued that day.

Lim said the criteria set out in the annex to the enforcement decree of the Maternal and Child Health Act — which defines the groups eligible for priority access to postnatal care centers — were established 10 years ago in June 2016, and that Lee had determined a review of the existing rules was necessary given that policy support for multicultural families has expanded considerably since then.

"The Lee Jae Myung administration will listen to the diverse voices of local governments, which establish and operate public postnatal care centers, as well as those on the ground, and will review an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Maternal and Child Health Act so that the priority-access system can benefit mothers who need it most," Lim said.

Lim added that the process would establish fair and rational criteria while fully reflecting the distinct characteristics and autonomy of local governments. "We will also closely examine the difficulties that multicultural families may still face in Korean society and provide thorough support to ensure no one falls through the cracks," Lim said.


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