Community Child Center Establishment Report — Floor Area, Head of Facility Qualifications and Required Documents

Procedure

1. 1. Decide the capacity and the floor area standard

   The center must have an office, a kitchen, a dining room and group guidance rooms (2 or more rooms), each as a separate space, and their combined exclusive-use area must be 82.5 square meters or more and at least 3.3 square meters per child. A difference between the area in the official records and the actual area is a ground for rejection, so calculate with the area in the building register.

2. 2. Check the building and lease conditions

   The center may be operated in leased premises, but the remaining lease term must be sufficient. If it is located in multi-family housing, prior consultation is needed because of complaints about noise between floors and building-use issues. Before the contract, confirm with the competent department that the building use is suitable for establishing a child welfare facility.

3. 3. Check the qualifications of the head of the facility and staff

   The head of the facility must hold a Grade 2 or higher social worker qualification and meet requirements such as 3 years of experience in child-related social welfare services (or 5 years of experience in social welfare services). A person qualified as a nurse, dietitian or vocational training teacher can become the head of the facility only with 5 years or more of experience working in social welfare services after obtaining that qualification. Delays are common because experience is not recognized, so obtain the certificates of work experience in advance and check them against the requirements.

4. 4. Prepare and submit the establishment report

   Submit the report form, the facility floor plan, the operation plan and the staff qualification documents to the child welfare department of the competent city, county or district (si/gun/gu) office. The report is accepted after the on-site check and any requests for supplementation have been handled.

Required documents

• Report form for establishment of a child welfare facility
• Facility floor plan (showing the office, kitchen, dining room and group guidance rooms) and building register
• Proof of ownership of the building or lease contract
• Qualification certificates and certificates of work experience of the head of the facility and staff
• Operation plan, budget and operating rules
• For a corporation, the articles of incorporation and the corporate register certificate

Fees

Agency fees for an establishment report are generally at the level of several hundred thousand won in the industry and vary depending on how much review of the floor area or confirmation of recognition of work experience is needed. We will advise after a consultation, based on the situation of the facility.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Child Welfare Act, Article 50
• Child Welfare Act, Article 52
• Child Welfare Act, Article 54
• Enforcement Rule of the Child Welfare Act, Article 23
• Enforcement Rule of the Child Welfare Act, attached Table 2
• Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act, attached Table 15

Checked against the statutes on 2026-09-30

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• Check the area and the use in the building register before signing a lease. If you sign based only on the actual usable area, the premises may fall short of the standard.

Frequently asked questions