BREAKING NEWS
South Korea Implements Aggressive Birth Promotion Policies to Counter Low Fertility Rate
Seoul, South Korea – In a bid to boost its population and tackle its low fertility rate, South Korea has introduced a series of aggressive birth promotion policies, sparking both excitement and concerns among citizens.
As of today, the government has announced a range of measures aimed at encouraging couples to have more children, including:
- Increased Financial Incentives: Parents will receive an additional ₩500,000 (approximately $420 USD) per child, on top of the existing ₩2 million (approximately $1,700 USD) per child.
- Extended Parental Leave: Fathers will be entitled to 12 months of parental leave, up from the current 2 months.
- Childcare Subsidies: The government will provide subsidies for childcare services, including kindergarten fees and after-school programs.
- Improved Healthcare Benefits: Expectant mothers and new parents will receive comprehensive healthcare benefits, including coverage for prenatal and postpartum care.
The moves come as South Korea faces a severe low fertility rate, with the average woman having only 1.2 children in her lifetime, well below the replacement rate of 2.1. The country’s population is projected to shrink by 20% by 2050, posing significant challenges for its economy, social security system, and healthcare infrastructure.
The policies have been welcomed by pro-natalist groups and some experts, who argue that the measures will help to reverse the country’s declining population trend and promote economic growth.
However, critics have expressed concerns over the potential costs and challenges associated with the policies. "While the government’s intentions are good, these measures may not be sufficient to address the root causes of South Korea’s low fertility rate," said Kim Ji-hyun, a demographer at Seoul National University. "Moreover, the increased financial incentives may lead to unintended consequences, such as encouraging couples to have more children simply to receive the benefits."
The government has emphasized that the policies are designed to promote a "healthy and stable" population, and to ensure that the country can maintain its social security and healthcare systems.
Stay tuned for further updates and analysis on this developing story!
SEO TAGS:
- South Korea birth promotion policies
- Low fertility rate in South Korea
- Increased financial incentives for parents
- Extended parental leave in South Korea
- Childcare subsidies in South Korea
- Improved healthcare benefits for expectant mothers and new parents
- Pro-natalist policies in South Korea
- Demographic challenges in South Korea
- Population decline in South Korea
- Economic impacts of low fertility rate
- Social security implications of low fertility rate
- Healthcare infrastructure challenges in South Korea
https://v.daum.net/v/20240717143607620
This article is in Korean, but if you translate it, it is a policy that discriminates between recently born and non-born households in the apartment subscription system.
The article also includes this part.
''The subscription system was designed to clearly divide the chances of winning the subscription depending on whether or not you have children,''
'' Now, it is a policy that feels like you have to have children(Born within the last 2 years) to win the apartment subscription.
In fact, the price of houses in Korea has increased tremendously, and since these subscriptions set the selling price much lower than the actual transaction price, winning the housing subscription can result in a price difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars (In other words, having a recent child means you can buy a house for hundreds of thousands of dollars less, effectively making hundreds of thousands of dollars more.), and this is probably a evidence of the natalism policy.
It is actually showing effects.
https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/023/0003831611?sid=102
This is also a Korean article, but if you translate it, it says that visits to infertility centers have skyrocketed this year and that in vitro fertilization has surged by 30%.
In addition, according to recent statistics, the number of applications for welfare services available to pregnant women has skyrocketed by 20-30%. You can see that the number of pregnant women has skyrocketed this year. This is because they have started implementing policies that indirectly discriminate against non-birthing households. This is just one example, and these policies are seen in all areas.
The same goes for marriage. Korea is probably starting to use the strongest natalism policy in the world right now, and it seems to be starting to work. The birth rate may skyrocket in a few months.
View info-news.info by madrid987