Osan City Signs Childbirth Encouragement Agreement with Maeil Dairies

Osan City (Mayor Kwak Sang-wuk) signed a memorandum of understanding with Maeil Dairies Co., Ltd. (CEO Kim Jung-wan) on the afternoon of the 26th at the city hall situation room to promote mutual cooperation for encouraging childbirth.

The memorandum signing ceremony was held with the attendance of Seo Min-taek, director of the Welfare and Education Bureau, Park Yong-chol, head of the Family and Women Division, and others from Osan City, as well as Baek In-woong, head of the Communications Division, and Choi Hyung-sik, executive director of social contribution, and others from Maeil Dairies Co., Ltd.

Through the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Osan City and Maeil Dairies Co., Ltd. agreed to jointly promote childbirth encouragement projects, including education and cultural programs for pregnant women (prenatal music concerts, prenatal exhibitions), joint seminars, and free infant formula support for low-income and multicultural families.

At the signing ceremony, Seo Min-taek, director of the Welfare and Education Bureau of Osan City, stated, "It is a fact that local governments face institutional and economic limitations in supporting childbirth and childcare," and continued, "I thank Maeil Dairies for sharing our vision for encouraging childbirth, and it is expected that through today's agreement, we will be able to implement policies that help many families facing difficulties in childbirth and childcare."

A Maeil Dairies official said, "We expect that today's childbirth encouragement mutual business agreement with Osan City will open a new chapter in the company's social contribution projects," and expressed the determination to work with Osan City to take the lead in overcoming low birth rates.

Meanwhile, Maeil Dairies has been operating the Absolute MomSchool since 1975, implementing various social contribution projects including coaching classes for expectant mothers, stretching and yoga classes for pregnant women, breastfeeding and baby food preparation courses, and providing free infant formula to low-income and multicultural families, from pregnancy to early motherhood education and childcare.

Osan City, designated as a model city for childbirth and childcare in Gyeonggi Province, provides childbirth incentive payments and baby care kits and bath product sets as childbirth celebration gifts, and offers various benefits particularly to multi-child families.

Additionally, to reduce the childcare burden on working women, Osan City operates the 24-hour MomMom Café, the first of its kind in Gyeonggi Province, and has achieved remarkable results in childbirth and childcare support through customized childcare policies that balance work and family life and overcome low birth rates.

In particular, at the '2013 Gyeonggi Province Childbirth Encouragement Best Practices Competition' held at the Gyeonggi Province Talent Development Institute on the 19th, Osan City reworked and presented the 'Buffer Bear Project,' a low birth rate prevention policy from the United Kingdom, as a differentiated initiative unique to Osan City, received recognition as a new paradigm in childbirth encouragement projects, and won an award of excellence.