A school group rests in the Olympic Park, Seoul
South Korea is planning to release a five-year plan in December with the aim of increasing the country’s low birth rate. As part of this plan, the government intends to raise the average number of babies per woman to 1.5 by 2020 and 2.1 by 2045. Korea’s fertility rate was 1.2 in 2013, the third-lowest in the world after Hong Kong and Macau, according to data from the World Bank.
Korea’s rapidly aging population and low fertility rate have resulted in mounting pressure on officials in Seoul into putting together 200 pages of proposals on how to increase the birth rate. Some of the options being considered include providing public housing for young couples, campaigning in favor of marriage, and providing more support for people seeking fertility treatment. One proposal even suggested local authorities arrange matchmaking gatherings for singles.
“The low birthrate could become a national catastrophe unless the government really acknowledges the significance of the issue,” said Kang Hye-ryun, a professor of business administration at Ewha Womans Universirty.
Fertility and ageing populations are common problems in many Asian economies as they develop. Japan, which enacted similar policies to Korea’s proposals in the past, has been unsuccessful in tackling its population decline. Hong Kong and Macau top the list of the world’s lowest fertility rates, turning increasingly to non-resident labor in order to boost their economies.
Meanwhile, in China yesterday the State Council Information Office held a briefing on how to implement its new two-child policy. Authorities said at the briefing that the new policy could increase economic growth by around half a percent and provide China with an additional 30 million laborers by 2050.
Previous attempts by the South Korean government to boost the birth rate have been unsuccessful, despite the equivalent of USD 70 billion injected into government-sponsored programs since 2006. The birth rate (the number of births per 1,000 people) has fallen consistently since the 1980s, and in 2014 the BBC reported that the birth rate at the time was the lowest recorded in Seoul.
According to South Korea’s largest daily newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, the government has struggled to boost the birth rate because most of the money is allocated to subsidizing childcare providers, instead of encouraging Koreans to have more children.
“Raising the birthrate is especially hard in Korea because of a corporate culture that does not support a work-life balance,” said Lee Jong-wha, Professor of Economics at Korea University. AP
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