The Samsung Welfare Foundation is stepping up support for infant and toddler development in partnership with the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, a state-funded research institute under the Prime Minister's Office.
The Samsung Welfare Foundation said on the 3rd that it has built an integrated platform called "Saessak and Danbi" that checks the developmental status of infants and toddlers and provides related information and referrals to specialized institutions. The platform comprehensively offers infant and toddler development checks, stage-by-stage developmental information, customized developmental support play activities, and information on specialized institutions by residential area, so that parents and teachers can easily assess a child's developmental level. The platform incorporates the infant and toddler development check tool (K-SIED) developed by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education. Based on the results of a free assessment, it provides play content that can be used immediately at home, daycare centers, and kindergartens. It also connects users in one stop with information on regional specialized institutions capable of precise diagnosis and treatment.
The service was devised amid a recent increase in children with developmental delays. According to the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, the proportion of children given a "follow-up examination recommended" result on the Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children (K-DST) surged about sixfold, from 2.1% in 2012 to 12.3% in 2023. The proportion given a "further evaluation recommended" result, indicating a need for detailed examination, also rose from 0.9% to 3.3% over the same period. While the number of children experiencing developmental difficulties is increasing, it is not easy for caregivers to find the necessary information and support institutions after testing. The two organizations developed the platform over about two years starting in 2024 to address these on-the-ground difficulties.
The Samsung Welfare Foundation plans to steadily improve the platform together with a monitoring group and to expand connections with related public institutions. "Saessak and Danbi is a platform that supports parents and teachers so that every child can grow up healthily," said Ryu Moon-hyung, executive vice president of the Samsung Foundation. "We will cooperate with the education, childcare, medical, and welfare sectors to serve as a hub for the developmental support ecosystem."
