There were hardly any privately-run welfare facilities in Korea that were not connected to churches.
Generally, the preferred place for churches was nursing homes.
Elderly people had high voter turnout rates, making them easy targets for politicians.
During election season, feeding them a meal at a restaurant could easily garner dozens of votes from a single gathering.
Moreover, most residents of nursing homes were so frail that they could hardly walk in neighborhood parks.
It was easy for the operators to control them, and there were fewer complaints from the local community.
On the other hand, day-care centers were the least favored places by churches.
Firstly, children didn't have voting rights, so it was difficult for churches to leverage political power.
Furthermore, as children grew older, they were less likely to comply with the facility's rules and often caused problems with local residents.
