Child care courses 
Part-time child care service
- Among infants and young children aged six months or older who do not attend a child care center or kindergarten, infants and young children determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Health and Welfare may receive part-time child care services if necessary (Article 26-2 (1) of the Child Care Act and Article 28-2 (2) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
- Part-time child care services shall include child care support centers, child care centers, and other facilities, which can provide part-time child care services, designated by the Special Self-Governing City Mayor, the Special Self-Governing Province Governor, and the head of a Si/Gun/Gu (city/county/district), and child care-related facilities established and operated by nonprofit corporations or organizations may receive the following support (Article 26-2 (2) of the Child Care Act and Article 28-2 (1) and (6) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
1. Part-time child care service: Part-time child care service that can be used regularly on an hourly basis, but the date of use is less than 6 days a week and the daily hours of use are less than 12 hours
2. General part-time child care service: Part-time child care services available on an irregular basis in the event of an urgent demand for part-time child care services
- Guardians of infants and young children who want to receive part-time child care services must apply to the Special Self-Governing City Mayor, the Special Self-Governing Province Governor, or the head of the Si/Gun/Gu (Article 28-2 (3) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
Extracurricular activity program
- The director of a child care center may conduct extracurricular activity programs conducted inside and outside child care centers (hereinafter referred to as “special activities”) in addition to child care courses from 12:00 to 18:00 for infants and young children aged at least 24 months with the consent of his/her guardian (The main body of Article 29 (4) of the Child Care Act and the main body of Article 30-2 (1) and (2) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
· In the following cases, extracurricular activities can be carried out for infants and young children between 18 months and 24 months old. However, if extracurricular activities are carried out for infants and young children aged between 18 months and 24 months, they must go through the operating committee (Proviso to Article 30-2 (2) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
1. Where infants and young children between 18 months and 24 months of age are receiving child care with infants over 24 months of age
2. Where there is a request from a guardian of an infant or young child between 18 months and 24 months
· In such cases, the principals of such child care centers shall prepare programs as an alternative to the extracurricular activity for infants and young children not participating in the extracurricular activity (Proviso to Article 29 (4) of the Child Care Act).
- The contents of the special activity program shall consist of the contents necessary to foster infants and young children as healthy members of society. In addition, it shall not be provided in the standard child care program, and it is related to any of the following areas (Article 30-2 (3) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
1. Fields of arts and physical education, such as music, art, sports, etc
2. Fields of language such as foreign language
3. Creative fields such as mathematics and science
4. Other fields determined and publicly announced by the Minister of Health and Welfare
Standards for operation of child care centers
Name of the child care center
- Child care centers shall use the name “OO Child Care Center.” Anything other than “OO child care center,” which may be mistaken for another educational institution, private institute, etc. shall not be used and shall not be used together. Moreover, the same name should not be used in the same Si/Gun/Gu (Article 23 and Attached Table 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
Subject of child care and class organization
- Child care centers should run classes consisting of infants and young children of the same age. However, if necessary for the operation of the child care course, a class of infants and young children of different ages may be operated as prescribed by the Minister of Health and Welfare (Article 24 of the Child Care Act, Article 23 and Attached Table 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
· Provided, That if there is a child with disabilities, a class consisting only of children with disabilities may be operated.
- Where child care hours are operated separately, classes may be divided by child care hours (Article 24-2 (1) of the Child Care Act, Article 23 and Attached Table 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
- If necessary, the head of the child care center may extend the child care by up to the age of 12 (Proviso to Article 27 of the Child Care Act).
Child care time
- Child care centers can be operated by dividing child care hours as follows (Article 24-2 (1) of the Child Care Act).
· Basic child care: A course essentially provided to all infants and young children using the child care center, in which child care services are provided not more than seven hours a day
· Extended child care: A child care service provided to meet the needs, etc. of guardians in excess of the basic child care
- Child care centers are open 6 days a week and more than 12 hours on weekdays. However, there are cases where the operating days and operating hours of a child care center are adjusted to the extent that it does not cause any inconvenience to guardians, infants, and young children in consideration of the guardian’s working hours, etc., and where the head of the child care center obtains consent from the guardian in advance, this shall not apply (Article 23 and Attached Table 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
- A child care center shall not cause serious inconvenience to infants, young children, and parents by closing a child care center without justifiable reasons, such as the occurrence of a natural disaster or infectious disease (Article 23 and Attached Table 8 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
Installation and operation of the playground
- In principle, child care centers with more than 50 children (excluding child care centers that care only for infants under 12 months) should have an outdoor playground with a size of more than 3.5 m2 per infant and young child (Article 15-2 of the Child Care Act, Article 9 (1) and Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
- Provided, That if the Minister of Health and Welfare determines the standards for the maximum number and area of infants and young children participating in play activities at the same time according to the size (capacity) of child care centers, a playground may be established according to such standards (Article 15-2 of the Child Care Act, Article 9 (1) and Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
Accident prevention facilities
- A person who has established or operates a child care center shall install accident prevention facilities on each floor, such as the first and second floors (Article 15-3 (1) of the Child Care Act).
· child care centers should be equipped with firefighting equipment and emergency exits to prepare for emergencies. In this case, the emergency exit should be equipped with an emergency exit indicator light at the top, and a lock shall be installed inside the door (Article 15-3 of the Child Care Act, Article 9 (1) and Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
· Child care centers should have ways for evacuation in both directions in case of an emergency, and have exits and evacuation facilities on each floor (Article 15-3 of the Child Care Act, Article 9 (1) and Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
Installation of closed-circuit televisions
- A person who has established or operates a child care center shall install or manage closed-circuit televisions for the safety of infants and young children, such as prevention of child abuse, and the security of the child care center. However, in any of the following cases, a closed-circuit television may not be installed (Article 15-4 (1) of the Child Care Act).
· Where a person, who has established or operates a child care center, reports to the head of a Si/Gun/Gu with the consent of all the guardians
· Where a person, who has established or operates a child care center, has installed network cameras with the consent of all the guardians and child care teachers and staff
- A person who installs and manages closed-circuit televisions shall comply with the following so as not to infringe on the rights of data subjects, such as infants, young children, and child care teachers and staff (Article 15-4 (2) of the Child Care Act).
· He or she shall collect the video information to the minimum extent possible by lawful and reasonable means for the safety of infants and young children, such as prevention of child abuse and the security of the child care center, and such information shall not be used for any purpose other than the intended purpose.
· He or she shall manage video information safely, taking into account the possibility of infringing on the rights of data subjects, such as infants, young children, and child care teachers and staff, and the degree of harm involved.
· He or she shall handle video information in a manner that minimizes invasion of privacy of data subjects, such as infants, young children, and child care teachers and staff.
- A person who has established or operates a child care center shall keep video information recorded in a closed-circuit television for at least 60 days (Article 15-4 (4) of the Child Care Act).
- Those who fail to install closed-circuit televisions or violate their installation and management obligations shall be punished by an administrative fine not exceeding KRW 3 million (Article 56 (3) 4 of the Child Care Act).
Establishment and operation of parental monitoring groups
- Parental monitoring group is an inspection team of up to 10 parents, child care experts, and health experts to monitor the environment of child care centers and provide consultation for improving the environment thereof (Article 25-2 (1) and (3) of the Child Care Act).
- Each parental monitoring group shall perform the following duties and may visit child care centers to perform their duties with approval from the Special City Mayor, Metropolitan City Mayor, Special Self-Governing City Mayor, Do Governor, Special Self-Governing Province Governor, or the head of a Si/Gun/Gu (Article 25-2 (2) and (6) of the Child Care Act and Article 27 (1) of the Enforcement Rules of the Child Care Act).
1. Monitoring the state of operation of child care centers, such as meals, hygiene, health, and safety management
2. Consultation to improve the environment of child care centers
3. Other matters related to child care, such as proposals to improve the operation of child care centers and child care environment
- Guardians may request the principal of a child care center to allow their child care center observation to check its operation realities, such as the care environment for infants and young children and the details of child care, and in such cases, the principal of a child care center shall comply with such a request unless there is a compelling reason not to do so (Article 25-3 (1) of the Child Care Act).