Addressing the low birthrate goes adrift

The presidential office plans to displace Kim Young-mi, current vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy. Former Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan is a formidable candidate to replace her. The committee is in charge of the country’s most urgent agenda — the ultralow fertility rate. The president serves as the chair, while the vice chair sees to everyday business. Seo Hyung-soo, a vice chair from the former Moon Jae-in government, stayed on because President Yoon Suk Yeol did not appoint his replacement for five months after taking office.

Na Kyung-won, a former lawmaker of the People Power Party (PPP), was finally appointed to the position in October 2022. Although the presidential office said the choice was based on the seasoned politician’s experience, many suspected that the appointment aimed to dissuade Na from running for party head.

Na ended up resigning from office just three months into her position. Kim was her replacement. She is also being dismissed for a “lack of progress” on the agenda. Cho Young-tae, a professor of demographics at Seoul National University, resigned from the committee, frustrated with “recycling of failed” policies of past governments. Hong Suk-chul, another Seoul National University professor who was seated as a permanent member of the committee, also left to work as the PPP’s campaign platform chief.

The presidential committee is making little progress, and losing members, because it acts merely as an advisory panel. It has no power over budgeting or policymaking. The secretariat of the committee was established in 2017 and staffed mostly by officials dispatched by government offices. Their relocation lasts only 14 months. Summing up and listing policies of various government offices is their work. They merely package existing measures as ideas to tackle low birth.

As a result, the country’s fertility rate is sinking to a new low despite the spending of nearly 300 trillion won ($226 billion) over the last 20 years. The fertility rate that hit 0.78 in 2022 is estimated to have fallen under 0.7 last year.

Joo is being tapped because of his strong drive. But determination alone cannot make a difference under the current committee structure. Korea could be erased from the map if its current birthrate continues. It needs a strong command center, not an advisory board, to steer policy. Rival parties are promising to establish a population agency as election platform. Discussions should start immediately.

Professor Cho pointed out that the county must build an environment where families are willing to have children 10 years later instead of fretting over immediate birth numbers. We need a uniform direction to combat our low birthrate.