Due to the country’s decreasing fertility rate, South Korea plans to increase their offering of baby payments. South Korea is recorded as having the world’s lowest fertility rate among all the countries across the globe.
Concerning this, the government would want to encourage more births. The government will give every family with a newborn child a monthly allowance of 1 million won (S$1,020).
In this article, you’ll read:
- Low Fertility Rates Push South Korea To Increase Baby Payments
- South Korea: The World’s Lowest Fertility Rate
The fertility rate of South Korea is declining continuously with more couples choosing a child-free lifestyle. For the past years, the country has always been one of the top countries across the globe with a low fertility rate.
To address the problem, the South Korean government plans to sharply lift the allowances for people to encourage more births. Despite the tighter fiscal policy, they are still aiming on increasing family support for Koreans.
Low Fertility Rates Push South Korea To Increase Baby Payments
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South Korea wants triple baby payments as it breaks its own record for World’s Lowest Fertility Rate. The government plans on providing every family with a newborn child a monthly allowance of 1 million won (S$1,020). It was their latest move as they courage more births in the country.
Just this week, the government revealed the budget proposal regarding this matter. In the proposal, they indicated that the handout will begin next year at a level of 700,000 won (S$1,700) a month. It will then increase to the full amount in 2024.
When the child turns one year old, the government will be reducing the stipend by half and run for a further year.
The Parent Pay
The “parent pay” of 1 million won (S$1,020) is one of the pledges of President Yoon Suk Yeol during the election campaign. According to him, it is one way to address the low birth rate in the country.
In May this year, President Yoon Suk Yeol took the office. He then described the demographic outlook of the country as a national “calamity.”
Before expanding the support for parents, South Korea shifts to a stricter fiscal policy. They do it to rein the debt during the pandemic era.
Despite all that, they would still want to spend initiatives on newborns. It underscores the urgency of tackling one of the country’s greatest long-term risks.
South Korea Break Its Own Record
South Korea break its own record as the World in 2021. In the past years, the country belongs among the top countries across the globe with the lowest fertility rate.
In 2021, the expected number of babies per woman is 0.81. It decreased by 0.03 perfect compared to 0.84 a year earlier.
The decrease in the low fertility rate in the country shed a light on an already dire outlook. It goes along with the prediction of the United Nation on the 51 million population will become more than half by the end of this century.
The current situation could lead to an array of challenges for policymakers. It includes everything from static economic growth to rising welfare payments.
The World’s Lowest Fertility Rate
According to the official figures, South Korea broke its own record for the World’s lowest fertility rate. It shows how the country struggles to reverse its problem of declining birth in the past years.
Concerning this, the country needs a fertility rate of 2.1 and above to maintain stable population growth. Unfortunately, the fertility rate of the country has been dropping continuously since 2015.
Moreover, the country recorded more deaths than births, for the first time in 2020. Additionally, the population of South Korea is getting older. According to experts, it indicates a demographic decline.
They are afraid that the recent situation of the country could lead to too few people of working age supporting its burgeoning elderly population. The country needs to make up for paying taxes and filing jobs in fields like home assistance and health care.
Common Reasons Why Most Korean Couples Choose To Not Have Children
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Aside from South Korea, several Asian countries continuously experience a decrease in their Total Fertility Rate (TFR). The countries topping this list include birth rate recordings from Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.
In South Korea’s case, more adults choose to build a stable lifestyle and career before marriage and conception. In truth, their passion for their studies and careers often leads them to go child-free. Here are some of the common reasons why most couples choose not to have kids:
Career over having a child
Many people in Korea refuse to take work leaves, especially those with stable corporate jobs. Most of them also fear taking breaks with the reason being child care.
Moreover, most adults and couples find a hard time imagining a future where they need to balance their work and their time for kids. Working couples also prefer to balance time with their significant other and their job without involving parenting.
Financial matters
When planning to have children, Koreans primarily considers if they are financially ready. Most couples decide not to have children despite years of marriage as they are not yet financially ready.
However, this causes most married couples to go child-free altogether. As they struggle to manage time between work and family, they can’t think of adding a child into the equation.
Women do not want to have children
Fewer women in South Korea choose to go child-free even after marriage. The reason? They refuse to adhere to traditional gender roles.
Despite being known as a conservative country, more South Koreans acknowledge the importance of feminism. Because of these, more South Korean women realise the pressure of fulfilling traditional roles of giving up their careers after marriage.
Additionally, more women want to thrive in their jobs instead of resigning to become housewives. This also leads to more women refusing to get pregnant after marrying their spouses.
