Cheonan City is proactively addressing the challenges posed by its changing demographic structure, characterized by low birth rates and an aging population, by implementing a comprehensive suite of policies that span the entire life cycle. The city is committed to expanding its birth and childcare infrastructure while simultaneously fostering future-oriented industries and creating employment opportunities to attract and retain a vibrant population.

A significant portion of Cheonan's budgetary allocation underscores its commitment to social well-being. This year, the city has earmarked a total of ₩839.5 billion for welfare-related expenditures, including support for children and the elderly. This substantial investment constitutes 40% of Cheonan's total general account budget of ₩2.1 trillion, demonstrating the city's prioritization of its vulnerable populations.

Despite the nationwide trend of declining birth rates, Cheonan has shown relative resilience. In the previous year, the city recorded a total fertility rate of 0.77 births per woman, slightly higher than the national average of 0.75. Furthermore, Cheonan witnessed 3,507 cumulative births, ranking it tenth among all basic local governments nationwide.

To further cultivate an environment conducive to raising children, Cheonan is investing ₩319.8 billion, including national and provincial subsidies, towards enhancing its birth and childcare infrastructure. The city's multifaceted approach aims to create a seamless support system for families, from the initial stages of childbirth through the years of raising children.

Key initiatives within Cheonan's birth and childcare support framework include:

Paternity Leave Incentives: Providing financial support to fathers taking parental leave to promote gender-equal parenting practices.
Birth Celebration Grants: Offering financial assistance to new parents to celebrate the arrival of their child.
Maternity Transportation Subsidies: Pioneering a program in South Chungcheong Province to provide transportation cost assistance to pregnant women.
Postpartum Care Support: Subsidizing the expenses associated with postpartum care centers.
First Encounter Vouchers: Providing vouchers to new parents for essential baby supplies and services.
Multi-Child Family Support: Offering childcare vouchers to families with four or more children.
Birth Celebration Rice Cakes: A novel initiative in collaboration with local businesses to provide celebratory rice cakes made from locally sourced rice to newborns.
Fertility Testing Subsidies: Supporting prospective parents by covering the costs of essential fertility tests for men and women aged 20 to 49, regardless of marital status.
Reduced Premature Infant Healthcare Costs: Alleviating the financial burden on families with premature infants by reducing their outpatient medical expenses.
Cheonan is also making significant strides in expanding its childcare infrastructure to provide comprehensive and flexible options for working parents. This year, the city will establish seven new "All Together Care Centers," increasing the total number to fifteen. These centers offer after-school care and various support programs for children. Furthermore, the city will expand its "365-Day, 24-Hour Full-Care Nurseries" from four to six locations, ensuring round-the-clock childcare services for families with demanding schedules. The "Time-Based Childcare Service" will also be significantly expanded from 30 to 36 locations, offering hourly childcare options for parents with temporary needs.

Recognizing the importance of a supportive community for families, Cheonan is implementing various programs to foster a family-friendly social environment. These initiatives include family-life education programs, "Papa Schools" to engage fathers in childcare, and a "Working Mom Support Center" to provide resources and assistance to working mothers, all aimed at promoting work-life balance.

In a move to address gaps in the welfare system, Cheonan has become the first city in South Chungcheong Province to implement a differentiated foster care subsidy system based on the age of the child. Previously, a uniform subsidy of ₩320,000 was provided regardless of age. However, starting this year, subsidies will be tiered, with ₩340,000 for children under 7, ₩450,000 for children aged 7 to 13, and ₩560,000 for children aged 13 and older, ensuring more appropriate support based on the child's developmental needs.

Simultaneously, Cheonan is proactively preparing for the advent of a super-aged society by implementing a range of policies tailored to its senior citizens. This year, the city has allocated ₩22.025 billion to senior citizen job creation projects, expanding the program to accommodate 4,833 participants across 93 different initiatives. By increasing the number of implementing organizations to nine, Cheonan aims to simultaneously enhance social participation opportunities and income security for its elderly population.

The city has also consistently increased the basic pension amount for single-person households over the past five years to ensure a more realistic level of financial support. The basic pension has been incrementally raised from ₩300,000 in 2021 to ₩307,500 in 2022, ₩323,180 in 2023, ₩334,810 in the previous year, and ₩343,510 this year.

To provide comprehensive care for seniors requiring assistance, Cheonan has established the "Cheonan Integrated Care Center." Furthermore, the city is actively improving the environment of senior welfare facilities, increasing heating subsidies for senior centers to ₩2 million and expanding rice support to 12 bags annually, ensuring a more comfortable and enriching environment for senior citizens' leisure and well-being.

Cheonan is committed to enhancing the quality of life for all its citizens by expanding its cultural and sports infrastructure. The highly anticipated "Cheonan Samgeori Park" is scheduled to reopen in June following a ₩72 billion investment. The 173,364 square meter park will feature a nature garden, family-oriented theme areas, and underground parking facilities, providing ample space for citizens' leisure and relaxation.

This month will also see the opening of the Cheonan Youth Complex Community Center, a multi-functional space catering to the city's 120,000 adolescents. The center will offer a range of activities, counseling services, educational programs, and recreational opportunities.

In addition, Cheonan is investing in enhancing its waterfront areas for residents' leisure and health promotion. The Daeseong Reservoir waterfront promenade is being developed, and environmental improvements are being carried out at the Cheonheung Reservoir waterfront promenade. To further enrich citizens' cultural lives, the Cheonan City Literary Hall and the Cheonan Children's Museum are also under construction.

Beyond creating a livable city with robust childcare and welfare infrastructure, Cheonan is actively pursuing the attraction and cultivation of high-value-added industries to generate quality jobs and attract a younger demographic.

The city has set its sights on becoming a leading smart city in South Korea and is actively competing to host the "National AI Computing Center Construction Project." This national-level initiative aims to establish a cutting-edge infrastructure facility equipped with advanced semiconductors to support the development of artificial intelligence services and models. The project involves a public-private special purpose corporation (SPC) and a total investment of ₩2.5 trillion by 2027.

Cheonan has already submitted a letter of intent to participate in the National AI Computing Center bidding process and is currently in discussions with domestic and international AI companies that have expressed interest in investing in the public-private SPC. These companies are reportedly drawn to Cheonan's strong industrial base, its proximity to the Seoul metropolitan area, and its excellent transportation infrastructure.

In conjunction with its pursuit of the National AI Computing Center, Cheonan is implementing a two-pronged strategy to build its unique smart city identity. This strategy involves establishing a hub-based smart city and fostering local industries by leveraging the technological capabilities of companies and institutions within the region.

Centered around the Cheonan Station Area Innovation District and in conjunction with the Smart Green Industrial Complex and the Campus Innovation Park, Cheonan will invest a total of ₩38 billion (₩16 billion in national funds, ₩16 billion in local funds, and ₩6 billion in private investment) in smart city development projects by 2026.

The city is actively working to integrate global IT companies' technologies into its administrative services and policies. It is also committed to supporting local promising startups in their efforts to enter the global market by providing consulting services, technical advice, and verification in collaboration with established enterprises.

Cheonan has already forged partnerships with global tech giants to advance its smart city vision. It signed a memorandum of understanding with French company Dassault Systèmes for smart city development cooperation and established a collaboration with Amazon in December to foster the smart city industrial ecosystem and build a global cooperative framework. In January, Cheonan held discussions with Google and other leading tech companies to explore collaborations in areas such as AI education and talent development, startup incubation, and overseas expansion support.

Building on its efforts to cultivate future growth engines, Cheonan will continue its program to discover and nurture promising startups this year. The "Cheonan Future Unicorn C-STAR Incubation Project" aims to propel promising startups towards unicorn status by providing customized, demand-driven support packages, moving away from traditional supply-oriented assistance.

Park Sang-don, the Mayor of Cheonan City, affirmed the city's unwavering commitment, stating, "We will continue to enhance the quality of life for our citizens through meticulous policies that encompass the entire life cycle and warm community care." Cheonan's proactive and comprehensive approach to addressing demographic shifts and fostering future growth positions it as a model for other cities grappling with similar challenges, demonstrating a commitment to building a vibrant and sustainable future for all its residents.