Looming population crisis

Korea’s childbirths dropped to a record low last year. A Statistics Korea report said the number of newborns was 406,300 in 2016, down 7.3 percent from 2015. It is feared that the figure will fall below 400,000 this year.

The record-low number indicates there is something seriously wrong with policies to increase the birthrate. The government has spent more than 80 trillion won since 2006 on boosting this; but Korea’s birthrate is 1.17 per woman — the lowest among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members. This is because the harsh parenting environment has not fundamentally improved despite the government’s efforts. A recent survey showed that 70 percent of women said the government’s support for working mothers was unhelpful.

The falling birthrate, coupled with rapid aging, will bring serious social and economic repercussions. The government can no longer afford to neglect the looming demographic crisis with unrealistic measures.

Policymakers first need to think about the root cause of why people are turning their backs on parenthood. There is a combination of factors. Married couples are discouraged from having children when they consider the high costs involved in education and child-care. With one of the worst youth unemployment crises, marriage and childbirth are unthinkable for many young Koreans.

Through several editorials, The Korea Times has underlined the need for a ministry to tackle population issues like Japan, which created a cabinet minister post to take charge of policies to boost the birthrate and support families with children. Thanks to such efforts, Japan’s birthrate recorded its highest in 21 years last year, with 1.46 children per woman.

Though belated, the government will establish a secretariat for population policy improvement starting next month, consisting of experts from many fields. To improve the overall environment for raising children, the secretariat should come up with tailor-made policies to encourage more young couples to have babies and to support working mothers.