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First lady Kim Hye-kyung greets participants at an event celebrating the 2025 Hanbok Culture Week in Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, on October 21. / Source: Yonhap News

First lady Kim Hye-kyung on Tuesday vowed to help improve Korea’s emergency childcare system, saying she would “do her part” to ensure the program functions effectively for single parents.

Kim made the remark while visiting Saerongi Saenami Home, a welfare facility for single-parent families in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. According to presidential deputy spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo, Kim responded to a resident who said it was difficult to find help when her child suddenly fell ill after leaving the facility.

“I will take an active interest in improving the emergency childcare system so it can truly work in practice,” Kim said.

When another resident shared that she faced emotional pain from social prejudice—such as being told that her child “speaks slowly because they come from a single-parent home”—Kim reportedly grew teary-eyed. “Raising a child is already difficult, and such perceptions make it even harder,” she said. “Our society needs to continue changing how it views different family types.”

Addressing the staff at the center, Kim urged them to “work together to build an inclusive government that embraces single parents and one-person households alike.”

Earlier in the day, the first lady visited Geumho Happiness Market, one of Seongnam’s largest traditional markets, where she spoke with vendors about the government’s Consumer Recovery Coupon Program. An optician told her the program had “helped struggling customers afford new glasses,” to which Kim replied that she was encouraged by the positive impact.

Kim also stopped by a clothing shop, where she used Onnuri gift certificates to buy pants for her mother, and later purchased snacks at a walnut pastry shop to deliver to the single-parent facility.