Population emergency: ”low birth rate problem” - South Korea responds with all-out national response

South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl has declared a "national population emergency" and said he will make every effort to overcome the low birth rate. To this end, he has established a new Population Strategy and Planning Department and a special budget for newlyweds.
The government has decided to promote measures to increase supply and raise childcare leave wages, etc. However, it is still unclear whether the Diet will be able to provide the support needed to fully implement measures to combat the low birthrate.
President Yoon said at the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee meeting held on the 19th, "We will declare a national population emergency and take measures to reduce the low birthrate.
"Until the day we overcome this problem, we will operate a pan-national response system," he said. President Yoon said, "We are facing a situation where we have to worry about the survival of the Republic of Korea (due to the rapid population decline)."
In order to overcome the low birth rate problem, the Korean government has decided to focus its policy capabilities on three core areas: balancing work and family life, child rearing, and housing.
The government will increase wages during childcare leave to a maximum of 2.5 million won (US$2,500), and provide a monthly subsidy of 1.2 million won (US$1,370) to businesses that hire replacement workers for childcare leave workers.
Under the principle of "national responsibility for child rearing," free education and childcare will be implemented for children aged 3 to 5 by 2027. In the housing sector, the supply of housing to families with newborns will be increased from 70,000 to 120,000 per year.
Newlywed families with newborns will be given another special supply opportunity. The government also plans to launch a Population Strategy Planning Department to oversee the response to the low birth rate issue.
The Population Strategy and Planning Minister will also serve as Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs. This powerful position will be on a par with the Economic Planning Board, which oversaw economic development policies from the 1960s to the 1990s.
In order to expand support for childbirth households and establish a population strategy planning department, the Diet is desperately seeking help with legislation and budget deliberations.
On the same day, President Yoon said, "I ask the National Assembly to cooperate so that the Population Strategy Planning Agency can be launched as soon as possible and a comprehensive national response system can be established."