Representative Park Jeong-su: "Separated into an individual ordinance to expand support for multicultural families and foreign residents in Chungcheongnam-do" 
The Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Council is pushing for the enactment of an ordinance to improve the quality of life for multicultural families by meticulously promoting multicultural family policies.

The Provincial Council announced on the 1st that Representative Park Jeong-su (Cheonan 9, People Power Party) proposed the "Ordinance on Support for Multicultural Families in Chungcheongnam-do." This ordinance was proposed to enhance the substance of policies by separately enacting the current "Ordinance on Support for Foreign Residents and Multicultural Families in Chungcheongnam-do," which integrates support for both foreign residents and multicultural families, according to the target beneficiaries.

Chungcheongnam-do Province established the 'Population Strategy Bureau' through organizational restructuring in 2024 and decided to expand support policies for multicultural families and foreign residents.

The number of multicultural households in Chungcheongnam-do has steadily increased, from approximately 60,000 in 2021 to about 65,000 in 2023, an increase of about 5,000 in two years. In particular, the increase in multicultural families is prominent in the northwestern region of Chungcheongnam-do, with approximately 6,000 households in Cheonan, 4,000 households in Asan, and 2,000 households in Dangjin.

In response to this increasing trend of multicultural families in Chungcheongnam-do, this ordinance aims to improve the quality of life for multicultural families in Chungcheongnam-do and promote social integration by more specifically defining support measures for the stable family life and early social settlement of multicultural family members.

The ordinance includes provisions to promote: ▲ Education, counseling, and public relations to enhance understanding of multicultural families ▲ Korean language education, vocational training, and job placement for marriage immigrants, etc. ▲ Prevention of domestic violence within multicultural families and protection of victims ▲ Interpretation and translation services for multicultural families ▲ Improvement of the residential environment for low-income multicultural families.

Representative Park Jeong-su stated the reason for the legislation, saying, "Chungcheongnam-do has the highest proportion of foreign residents in the country, so in-depth policies for multicultural families and foreigners are necessary." He added, "I hope this ordinance will help establish detailed policies to guide the stable lives and social settlement of multicultural families residing in Chungcheongnam-do."

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]