Global Economic Times

First implemented in Gwangju, the '10 a.m. Commute System for Parents of Elementary School Students' will be expanded nationwide.: Yim Kwangsoo Correspondent / Updated : 2025-09-07 16:50:05

Gwangju announced on the 7th that the '10 a.m. Commute System for Parents of Elementary School Students,' which was first implemented by the city, will be included in the Lee Jae-myung administration's work-life balance support measures, the '10 a.m. Commute System for Parents of Young Children,' and will be implemented nationwide starting in 2026.

This policy, which Gwangju has been implementing since 2022, allows parents working at small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 300 employees to reduce their daily working hours by one hour without wage cuts to use for childcare. Gwangju has been evaluated for helping workers with their work-life balance by supporting employers for the loss incurred from the reduction in working hours, while also reducing the burden of human resource management on companies, thereby increasing the satisfaction of both labor and management.

In the first year, 66 million won was provided to 100 workers at 87 workplaces. In 2023, 86.25 million won was provided to 126 people at 101 workplaces. Last year, 224.4 million won was provided to 306 people at 174 workplaces, and this year, 400 million won was provided to 500 people.

Gwangju emphasized that the system has already become a leading model for spreading a work-life balance culture, with several local governments, including Gyeongbuk, Jeonju, and Suwon, benchmarking it.

The city has been in discussions with relevant ministries, including the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, to expand the system nationwide. The government has confirmed it as a national project and has included it in next year's government budget proposal on the 29th of last month. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has expanded the eligibility to include parents of young children, not just elementary school students, and has also extended the support period to a maximum of one year, longer than Gwangju's two-month period.

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jeong said, "With the nationwide implementation, working parents of young and elementary school students will be able to enjoy the benefit of reduced working hours without wage cuts, and a synergistic effect with the government's push for a 4.5-day workweek is also expected."