Ulsan Buk-gu pursues making public postpartum care center services free

Ulsan Buk-gu is moving to make public postpartum care center services free for local families, a policy shift that contrasts low-cost private and public alternatives against rising municipal subsidies, news1.kr reported on October 8.

Ulsan Buk-gu Targets Free Postpartum Care for Families

The district government is advancing the elimination of user fees at the Buk-gu Public Postpartum Care Center as a core pledge of Lee Dong-kwon’s 9th elected administration. Located in the Yeongnam region as the first facility of its kind when it opened in 2021, the center features 28 mother-and-infant rooms. District residents currently pay 1.89 million won for a standard two-week stay. That price sits below commercial postpartum care rates, driving steady demand since the facility launched.

Rising Facility Demand Counters Mounting Operational Subsidies

Occupancy rates at the public center climbed from 66% in 2022 to 80.8% last year, creating fierce reservation competition that prompted officials to replace phone bookings with an online reservation system this year. Yet the facility relies heavily on district subsidies because user fees alone do not cover running costs. Last year alone, the district poured 900 million won in local government subsidies into the operation to plug the financial gap.

Lee Outlines Regional Funding Strategy to Cover Deficits

Making the service free would eliminate fee revenue while increasing reliance on local funds, forcing officials to secure external revenue streams. Lee addressed the financial shortfall during an October 7 press conference marking his 100th day in office. For the sake of low birth rate countermeasures and the public interest, some deficits can be tolerated, Lee stated, while adding that officials will review securing matching funds from city and provincial authorities because five other public postpartum care centers nationwide receive 50% support from municipal and provincial governments.