Yoon declares 'demographic emergency' in Korea as birthrate fall continues

Politics

Published: 19 Jun. 2024, 19:48 Updated: 21 Jun. 2024, 13:07

Yoon declares 'demographic emergency' in Korea as birthrate fall continues

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, greets children at a day care run by the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of the presidential committee tackling low birthrates and an aging population. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a "national demographic emergency" Wednesday, pledging to make every effort to overcome Korea's low birthrate crisis.

Yoon presided over a meeting of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy at the HD Hyundai R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, addressing the country's chronically low fertility rate and declining population issue.

"As of today, I officially declare a national demographic emergency," Yoon said, adding that an intergovernmental "all-out response system will be activated until the low birthrate problem is overcome."

Korea's total fertility rate, or the average number of expected births from a woman in her lifetime, fell to an all-time low of 0.76 in the first quarter of the year, far below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 1.59.

It falls short of the 2.1 births per woman needed to keep the country's population at its current 51 million.

The birthrate is projected to drop to another low of 0.68 this year.

"The population crisis caused by the country's ultra-low birthrate is the most fundamental of the various difficulties facing our society currently," Yoon said.

Yoon highlighted that his administration will focus primarily on three key areas: work and family life balance, better child care and more accessible housing.

The government is working to allow for more parental leave, including for fathers. It aims to increase paternity leave rates from the current 6.8 percent to 50 percent within Yoon's five-year term.

Likewise, it aims to increase parental leave pay to 2.5 million won ($1,810) per month for the first three months, up from the current 1.5 million won, to ease the financial burden on parents and make childcare leave more accessible.

In the next three months, the amount will decrease to 2 million won and to 1.6 million won in the next six months.

In addition, paternity leave will be doubled from 10 to 20 days.

The government plans to introduce a new two-week parental leave system to give parents more leeway to take time off for child care in shorter periods.

Other plans include encouraging more flexible work hours and increased subsidies for employers who hire temporary replacements for employees on parental leave.

Yoon also vowed to increase support for child care and expand afterschool programs at elementary schools.

This includes making free education and child care available for children aged three to five within his term to ensure that all elementary school students nationwide have access to the so-called Neulbom School program. This integrated program combines afterschool child care and education for students before and after classes.

Yoon promised to convert to a public child care system by 2027, in which the state bears "complete responsibility" for child care for kids up to the age of 11.

Housing allocations will prioritize households with newborns, newlyweds will have better access to low-interest loans to purchase homes and families with children will receive more tax benefits.

The government will allocate some 120,000 homes for households with newborns and make more newly built apartment units available for newlywed couples.

Yoon said that the low birthrate committee will hold an emergency response meeting monthly to address demographic issues until a new ministry of population strategy and planning is launched. The new population minister will double as the deputy prime minister for social affairs.

In a press conference marking the second anniversary of his inauguration on May 9, Yoon first introduced a plan to launch a ministry to tackle low birthrates, giving it more autonomy to form policies and develop budgets.

In Wednesday's meeting, Yoon promised to create tangible systems and policies through cooperation between the government, public and private sectors and asked the National Assembly for support in launching a population strategy ministry as soon as possible.

The meeting was attended by working mothers, fathers of multiple children, youths, parents of students and corporate representatives, as well as civilian experts appointed by the birthrate committee.

Over the past 16 years, the Korean government has spent some 280 trillion won on birthrate policies.

However, Yoon said that Korea is breaking its own low birthrate record annually and that the nation must overturn this trend to survive.

Yoon noted that the low birthrate problem is a difficult one "complexly intertwined with social structure and cultural factors" such as a high concentration of the population in the Seoul metropolitan area, the need for balanced regional development and employment opportunities.

He promised to simultaneously pursue structural reforms, including in education and the medical sector.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]