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60% of office workers see marriage as unnecessary: Survey

Published: 10 Mar. 2025, 15:41 Updated: 10 Mar. 2025, 15:43

A wedding dress shop located in Ahyeon-dong, Seodaemun District in western Seoul on March 16, 2023. [NEWS1]

Six out of 10 office workers believe marriage is no longer necessary, given changing social norms and economic factors, a survey showed Monday.

According to the survey of 653 wage earners conducted by local online job placement portal Incruit, 60.2 percent of those polled said getting married is not a must.

By gender, 50.3 percent of male respondents said marriage is necessary, while the ratio among women was 24.7 percent.

Among single men and women, 66.6 percent said they wanted to get married someday, and 57.5 percent of the respondents cited emotional stability as a key reason for their desire to marry.

Among those who said they do not want to get married, 39.6 percent said they simply do not feel any necessity, while 23.7 percent pointed to economic instability as the main factor, the survey showed.

Korea reported a 14.9 percent increase in the number of marriages in 2024, as more couples tied the knot following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Overall, however, the number of marriages has been on a downward trend over the past few decades in line with changing social norms and lifestyles, as well as tough job market conditions and rising home prices.

The total fertility rate, which represents the average number of expected births per woman in her lifetime, came to 0.75 in 2024, far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration, government data showed.

Yonhap