Kim Gi-hyeon, “The Moon Jae-in government only implemented policies that they could take credit for. The integration of early childhood education was pushed back”

People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon speaks at a meeting of the ruling PPP and government on unifying a management system for daycare centers and kindergartens at the National Assembly on July 28. Bak Min-gyu, Senior Reporter

On July 28, the People Power Party (PPP) and the government met in the National Assembly to discuss the integration of daycare centers and kindergartens. The two leaders of the ruling PPP, party leader Kim Gi-hyeon and floor leader Yun Jae-ok, met with related government ministers, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho and Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong.

In his opening remark, the PPP leader mentioned that South Korea’s total fertility rate was 0.78, the lowest among the member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and said, “At a time when every single one of our children are ever so precious and should be nurtured as competent persons of our nation, the integration of daycare centers and kindergartens is a state task that cannot be delayed any longer.”

Kim explained, “Integrating daycare centers and kindergartens was first discussed by the state in the Kim Young-sam government, and many governments since then have tried to promote it, but faced challenges securing fiscal resources.” He said, “It is true that negotiations failed each time because we were unable to narrow the differences on the selection and treatment of teachers and the designation of integrated agencies.” He further said, “The Park Geun-hye government was the most active on this issue, but only managed to integrate the financial resources for the education of children ages 3-5,” and pointed out, “The Moon Jae-in government, which received the baton, should have taken follow-up measures, but the integration of early childhood education was only reviewed by the national planning and advisory committee, which took on the role of the transition committee, and the government did not show much willingness to promote the issue within its term.” Kim Gi-hyeon argued, “Policies that they could easily take credit for or that could attract voters were designated as major state tasks, while the integration of early childhood education continued to be pushed to the back of government tasks,” and criticized the Moon Jae-in government. The PPP and the government will need to persuade the opposition Democratic Party of Korea to pass the legislation related to the integration of daycare centers and kindergartens, and it is doubtful whether they will be able to obtain cooperation after such criticism.

The PPP leader argued, “The Yoon Suk-yeol government is the first government to select the integration of daycare centers and kindergartens as a state task and to accelerate efforts to promote the issue, because it aims to steadily provide high-quality childcare and educational services to children,” and said, “The value we should put top priority on is our children. Delaying the integration of early childhood education because of political disputes by grownups is the same as committing a sin against the children.”

The PPP floor leader Yun Jae-ok said, “On July 14, four agencies, the education ministry, the welfare ministry, the governors association and the superintendents of education held a ceremony announcing a joint declaration to integrate early childhood education and pledged to concentrate our efforts.” He also said, “The National Assembly will work to first handle necessary legislative support, such as the amendments of the Government Organization Act and the National Education Committee Act. We will also actively review the budget necessary to promote the integration of daycare centers and kindergartens.”

Deputy Prime Minister Lee Ju-ho said, “If the management system is unified, a single ministry will be able to take responsibility and adjust the remaining issues more promptly, increasing the power to execute the integration of early childhood education.” He further said, “Thanks to the common idea that we must provide the world’s highest level of education and childcare without discrimination, the ministries were able to agree on bring them (daycare centers and kindergartens) together under the education ministry.” He shared his expectations saying, “If the party provides full support in legislation, then we will definitely be able to combine daycare centers with kindergartens.”

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong said, “We will actively cooperate in the transfer process so that our children, parents and teachers on the field will experience no inconvenience and so that the childcare services are smoothly provided even during the transition.”