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The South Korean national flag flies over Cheong Wa Dae on Dec. 28 last year, a day before the presidential office's return to the compound, which appears relatively quiet. The presidential standard is scheduled to be raised at midnight on Dec. 29. The photo was taken from the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, Seoul, on Dec. 28. / Photo by Park Seong-il

Cheong Wa Dae announced on Oct. 29 that it would consider revising the Enforcement Decree of the Maternal and Child Health Act to ensure that priority access to postpartum care centers benefits mothers who need it most.

Lim Ho-geun, Presidential Secretary for Population Policy, made the announcement in a statement issued that day, saying, "We will listen to diverse views from local governments, which are responsible for establishing and operating public postpartum care centers, as well as from those working in the field."

President Lee Jae Myung wrote on X (formerly Twitter) the previous day, "Preferential treatment systems for multicultural families operated by local governments, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, have become an issue." He added, "We will thoroughly review whether there is a strong need to give multicultural families preferential treatment beyond ensuring that they are not disadvantaged, and whether such preferential treatment should be abolished, including through consultations with local governments and possible revisions to the enforcement decree."

Lee's remarks about reviewing the possible abolition of preferential treatment for multicultural families raised concerns that they could encourage discrimination against socially vulnerable groups. Cheong Wa Dae appeared to be seeking to ease the controversy by proposing revisions to the enforcement decree that would reflect current circumstances.

"President Lee Jae Myung's social media post on Wednesday, Oct. 28, regarding local governments' postpartum care center policies was intended to highlight the need to improve the fairness and reasonableness of priority access to these centers and create a support system that all families with newborns can agree is fair," Lim explained.

"The criteria in the annex to the Enforcement Decree of the Maternal and Child Health Act, which specify groups eligible for priority access to postpartum care centers, were established 10 years ago, in June 2016," Lim continued. "President Lee determined that the existing rules need to be reviewed, given that various forms of policy support for multicultural families have expanded since then."

Regarding the proposed revision of the enforcement decree, Lim reiterated, "Throughout this process, we will establish reasonable and fair criteria while fully reflecting the characteristics and autonomy of local governments. We will also closely examine the difficulties that multicultural families may still face in Korean society and provide thorough support to ensure that no one falls through the cracks."

By Hong Sun-mi