South Korea on Sunday increased childcare subsidies to “parents' monthly wages,” increased already hefty maternity benefits, and increased paid family leave and mortgage subsidies, among other measures, in a bid to avert the world's worst population crisis. , announced more aggressive measures. Parents of a newborn child.
The proposed 2024 subsidy increase announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Sunday seeks to address all the factors cited by demographic experts in South Korea's birth rate.
The monthly salary for parents of children under the age of one has been raised from 700,000 won to 1 million won (equivalent to about $770). Families with children between the ages of 1 and 2 will receive between 350,000 won and 500,000 won per month.
In addition, cash subsidies of 2 million won will be provided for the birth of the first child, 3 million won for the second and subsequent children, and 5 million won for twins. Parental leave benefits have been increased to be enough to cover six months of leave for parents, doubling from 2023.
“Furthermore, the government will offer lower-interest home loans to parents of new babies, recognizing that the country's rising housing costs are holding back couples looking to start a family.” . korea times report on tuesday.
According to the President's Commission on Aging and Population Policy, more subsidies will be provided. The Committee is considering, inter alia, further support to address infertility issues.
Some local governments in South Korea introduced A unique program that makes childcare more affordable. For example, Incheon City is offering subsidies worth about $77,000 to children born in 2023 and up to age 18.
Incheon City's total subsidies will increase by about $21,000 this year from the already generous 2023 level, with even more benefits, including transportation allowances, announced by Mayor Yoo Jong-bok.
The support program package was named “100 Million+Dreams'' because the total subsidy amount in Korean currency is 100 million won.
Mayor Yoo said in December, “I hope that Incheon City's active fertility policy will lead to the development of national birthrate encouragement policies and measures to combat the declining birthrate.''
Incheon's birth rate is 0.66 children per woman, even lower than crisis level National average of 0.72. National interest rates are expected to continue falling until at least 2025, reaching 0.65.
South Korea's birth rate will drop to 0.78 in 2022, giving it the unfortunate honor of having the lowest birth rate in the world. At the time, government planning officials expected the minimum birth rate to be 0.7, and thought the birth rate would start increasing after 2024.
When the revised forecast was announced in December, President Yoon Seok-yeol's technical bureaucrats said, candidate This is because Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok made a pessimistic comparison. titanic collide with an iceberg.
Choi: “It’s already too late.” Said reporters. “Ships like that, titanic The only way to find a coral reef is to crash. ”
Choi estimates that even with the most aggressive policies, it will take 30 years to restore a healthy birthrate, and South Korea is facing challenges such as labor shortages, tax revenue shortages, rising welfare costs, and an aging population. I felt it was necessary to prepare for the impact of
bank of korea predicted Last month, he announced that if current demographic trends continue, the nation's economy will begin to shrink in 2050. Some observers also ominously noted that North Korea's birth rate is about twice that of South Korea, and that Seoul may not have enough soldiers to protect its borders in the coming years.
