Suwon City and LH Sign Free Lease Agreement for 'Suwon Together Care Center No. 7'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City will lease part of an 'LH Multi-Child Lease Housing' property free of charge to operate the 'Suwon Together Care Center.'

Suwon City and LH (Korea Land and Housing Corporation) signed the 'Free Lease Agreement for Suwon Together Care Center No. 7' on the 24th at the office of the Director of the Welfare and Women's Department at City Hall.

Under the agreement, LH will lease 159 square meters of first-class neighborhood commercial space on the first floor of the LH Multi-Child Lease Housing located in Songduk-dong, Jangan-gu, to Suwon City free of charge for 10 years. The city plans to establish Together Care Center No. 7 in the leased space. The city will only bear the costs of building maintenance, management, and repairs.

Suwon City plans to solicit operators for Together Care Center No. 7 in October and complete the operator selection process to open the facility in December.

The Together Care Center, one of the mayoral pledges for the seventh term, is a facility that provides care services to all elementary school children (ages 6-12) who need childcare after school ends. All elementary school students can use the facility regardless of their parents' income level, and children from low-income families, working parents, and multi-child households receive priority.

The center provides meals and snacks and operates play and specialized programs. It also offers academic guidance. The facility operates Monday through Friday, from noon to 8 p.m. during the school year and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. during school breaks.

The city aims to operate 20 Together Care Centers by 2022. It plans to open 7 facilities by the end of this year, establish 6 centers in 2021, and 7 more in 2022.

'LH Multi-Child Lease Housing' is residential housing available to multi-child households with two or more children and non-homeowning household members who meet the national lease asset requirements.

Seo Kyung-bo, Director of Suwon City's Welfare and Women's Department, and Bang Myeong-su, Head of LH's Housing Welfare Business Division, attended the signing ceremony.

Director Seo Kyung-bo stated, "The free lease agreement with LH will be a great help in expanding the Together Care Centers," and added, "We will continue to make efforts to create an environment where work and family life can coexist."