Privately run child care centers across the nation are expected to close for a week starting Monday in a collective action to demand a rise in government subsidies.

“We decided to go on a six-day strike, beginning Feb. 27 until March 3. It has become impossible for us to run our centers because of the unrealistic fees and excessive restrictions set by the Ministry of Health and Welfare,” the Private Preschool Association said in a statement released Friday.

“We chose a strike as a last resort,” it said.

The PPA represents about 17,000 child care centers, which look after nearly 750,000 children. Aside from an increase in governmental subsidies, it demands removal of excessive restrictions on their management and other measures to improve working condition and welfare of teachers.

Government officials vowed to deal sternly with the planned shutdown, saying a center that joins the closure could face a suspension of business or even the annulment of its business license.

“We have directed provincial authorities to prevent centers from closing,” a welfare ministry official said.

The official said that he expected the potential repercussions to put many centers off from joining the strike.

A child care center teacher also predicted that many operators of child care centers would decide not to participate, fearing disadvantage in their business.

“I am not going to participate in this, if it’s going to be only a few centers closed. If they are going to do it effectively, it requires all participation,” said a teacher surnamed Kim, asking for anonymity due to sensitivity of the issue.

Experts say the strike has been triggered by the difference in subsidies to be given to families with children going to child care centers and kindergartens once a new government child care support program starts.

Starting from this year, the government plans to provide families 200,000 won a month for each child aged 5 or under and enrolled in kindergartens and child care centers.

On top of the standard subsidy, families with children at kindergartens are entitled to extra support from the government, such as all-day care fees and special support for low-income families.

Experts point out the difference in subsidies is because kindergartens and child care centers are administered by two separate ministries.

“The child policy in Korea is managed by the two ministries ― childcare centers by the welfare ministry and kindergartens by the education ministry, often leading to ineffective budget allocation regarding the child policy. We need to unify the operations in order to use budget effectively,” Chi Sung-ae, professor of childhood department at Chung Ang University, told a local daily.

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)