Postpartum Care Facility Fees in Gwangju Reach 4.06 Million Won... Second Highest Nationwide

Lee Sookhee Urges Expansion of Public Postpartum Care Centers

6,887 Mothers Used Seven Centers in Jeonnam Over Ten Years

Only Gangjin, Wando, and Haenam Have Public Postpartum Care Facilities

It has been found that postpartum care facility fees in the Gwangju area are the second highest in the nation, following Seoul. There have been calls to expand the public postpartum care centers currently operated in the Jeonnam region to cover the entire Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City in order to ease the economic burden on families with newborns.

Sookhee Lee, a member of the Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan Council (Administrative and Firefighting Committee, Gwangju Buk-gu District 1), emphasized during a five-minute free speech at the first session of the third regular meeting of the council on September 18, 2026, "To address the challenges of low birth rates and the risk of regional extinction, we need to expand public postpartum care centers throughout Jeonnam Gwangju."

Sookhee Lee, Former Member of the Gwangju Metropolitan Council, Jeonnam.

According to Lee, the nationwide average cost for a standard postpartum care facility room is 3.75 million won, but in Gwangju, the fee is 4,066,000 won—about 310,000 won higher. This makes it the second highest in the country after Seoul.

Lee stated, "The period immediately following childbirth is when mothers need to recover while newborns require round-the-clock care. However, due to rising fees at private postpartum care centers, financial burdens on families with newborns are increasing." She added, "Our policies should shift from merely encouraging childbirth to making the post-childbirth period a public responsibility."

Currently, there are seven public postpartum care centers operating in the Jeonnam region. Over the decade from 2015 to last year, 6,887 mothers made use of these services, of whom 4,473—or 65%—were eligible for discounted fees as low-income or vulnerable groups. Among the discounted group, 3,464 (77.5%) were families having a second child or more.

Lee commented, "These figures show that public postpartum care centers are more than just welfare facilities; they are effective policy tools that reduce financial pressure on families and support those having second or third children."

The regional disparity in access to public postpartum care centers was also identified as an issue. Of the 89 nationally designated population decline areas, the former Jeonnam area contains 16—the highest among metropolitan jurisdictions. However, only Gangjin, Wando, and Haenam currently have public postpartum care centers.

Lee referenced the fact that Mayor Min Hyung-bae visited the first public postpartum care center in Jeonnam, located in Haenam, during the transition committee’s activities in June and examined the mother and newborn care system. "Now, we must move beyond visits and empathy to real policy and execution," she said.

She put forward several proposals: establishing a mid-to-long-term plan at the level of the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Metropolitan City for expanding public postpartum care centers; considering the establishment of a public postpartum care center in Gwangju; introducing a public–private partnership model using private postpartum care centers; and expanding postpartum care infrastructure by utilizing local extinction response funds.

Lee said, "The birth of a child is not just a happy event for one family but also the future of the region. We must not simply tell people to have children—we need to create a 'special city where it is good to give birth and raise a child,' which takes responsibility for parents who have children."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.