Seoul Metropolitan Government introduces flexible pricing for child and youth psychology support

Provider job satisfaction scores 8.2 points higher under the system

Working conditions, including job security, remain a concern

Seoul City Hall [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Seoul City Hall [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Community Service Support Center said Sunday that a six-month monitoring review of the city's flexible pricing system showed improvements in both user satisfaction and provider job satisfaction.

Users of child and youth psychology support services under the flexible pricing system scored 6.5 points higher in satisfaction than those not covered by the system, according to an analysis of the program's performance. Providers' job satisfaction was also 8.2 points higher, though satisfaction with working conditions — including pay and job security — remained low.

The Seoul flexible pricing system was introduced in February to improve service quality and support the stable operation of service providers by expanding their autonomy in setting prices for child and youth psychology support services. The reform restructures the pricing framework for such services to ease financial pressures on providers and raise quality standards.

Key features include a uniform increase in the government subsidy to 20,000 won ($15) per session to bring service fees in line with actual costs, caps on out-of-pocket payments by user rating, an expansion of the income eligibility threshold to 160 percent of the standard, the creation of a new fourth rating tier, tighter qualification requirements for service providers, and mandatory parental counseling.

User satisfaction in the group covered by the system reached 90.8 points, compared with 84.3 points in the uncovered group — a gap of 6.5 points. The likelihood of recommending the service to others was also more than 6 points higher among covered users.

Provider job satisfaction stood at 68.3 points in the covered group, against 60.1 points in the uncovered group, a difference of 8.2 points. The gaps were most pronounced in employee benefits (13.4 points) and hourly pay (9.2 points).

As of the end of September, users in the newly created fourth rating tier accounted for about 4 percent of all users, indicating that the expanded income eligibility criteria had opened up a new segment of beneficiaries.

Even among those covered by the flexible pricing system, satisfaction with employment conditions — including pay levels, job security and benefits — remained in the 40-to-50-point range, pointing to areas that still require improvement.

The support center plans to share the results of in-depth focus group interviews conducted with users, service providers and provider staff to gauge on-the-ground perceptions of the system, and to use the findings as baseline data for future policy improvements.


ken@heraldcorp.com