President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Monday that childcare is the president’s responsibility under the Constitution and the country should take the reins.

The president made the remarks during a public forum on childcare and education at an elementary school in Gyeonggi Province, saying that he has been striving to fulfill his campaign promise of government management of after-school programs and education that was made a national task by his administration.

Yoon reaffirmed the plan to expand the after-school child care program, which provides various education and care programs, to all elementary school students across the country.

He vowed to ensure that the program expands to about two-thousand elementary schools in the first half of this year and every elementary school in the nation by the second half, while expanding to all elementary students who wish to take part in the program by the year 2026.

Citing a survey showing 83-point-six percent of prospective parents of elementary school students wish to participate in the program, the president stressed that the government should diligently pursue it despite various difficulties.

Yoon also promised efforts to increase operating hours of the program and expand free programs to reduce the financial burden on parents.