The Seoul Metropolitan Government will increase the support unit price for meals for undernourished children from 9,000 KRW to 9,500 KRW this year. This measure reflects the rise in prices to enhance the effectiveness of meal support and provide stable meals for children.
As of December last year, 27,346 children at risk of under-nutrition received meal support from the Seoul City Government. The support is divided as follows: 15,486 children use the children’s meal card (Dream Tree Card), 11,274 receive group meals at facilities such as local children’s centers, and 586 receive lunchbox and food delivery.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will introduce an AI-based monitoring system to ensure that the Dream Tree Card is used for its intended purpose. This system preemptively blocks unsuitable establishments by analyzing harmful keywords before new franchises are automatically registered. The system also continuously checks for fraudulent use by analyzing the payment patterns of existing franchises over the past 12 months.
Last March, the city government conducted a comprehensive inspection of all franchises (100,846 locations), removing 6,084 establishments that primarily sold alcoholic beverages or were high-end restaurants. Through quarterly inspections, a total of 14,779 establishments have been excluded as inappropriate franchises. The AI-based monitoring system utilizes big data analysis from Shinhan Card to identify suspicious franchises, which are immediately excluded from use if deemed inappropriate.
The city will also use the Dream Tree Card app to continually display pop-ups prohibiting fraudulent use and send regular guidance messages to guardians to encourage proper card usage.
From this month, children’s choice options will expand as they can now purchase snacks at GS25 convenience stores. Previously, snacks could only be purchased at CU convenience stores, but this expansion allows children to purchase additional items like candy or ice cream when buying lunchboxes or instant meals. However, to promote healthy eating habits, purchases of over 4,000 KRW worth of meal items (such as lunchboxes, gimbap, or noodles) are required to qualify for up to 3,000 KRW in snack purchases.
Kim Sun-soon, Director of the Seoul City Women’s and Family Policy Office, stated, “We will thoroughly manage inappropriate franchises with the introduction of an AI-based monitoring system and block fraudulent use,” adding that efforts will be made to expand support to ensure children have safe and healthy meals.
