By Kim Jae-won
Staff Reporter
South Korea should seek ways to use the North's working population as part of efforts to prepare for the rapid aging of the South's population, a local private think tank said Sunday.
In its analysis report on the population of the two Koreas, Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) said that the South will see the ratio of its working population drop drastically in 30 years. The working population refers to the economically-active population aged between 15 and 64.
The ratio is expected to stand at 72.8 percent this year and go down to 71.2 percent in 2020. The ratio will drop to 64.2 percent in 2030, and will reach 54.4 percent in 2050, the HRI said.
It expects that the North will surpass the South in 2020 in terms of the working population ratio with the Communist country expected to post a 71.3 percent ratio. It is expected to decrease gradually with 68.9 percent in 2030 and 65.3 percent in 2050, the research center said.
"The South will become an aged society much faster than the North as life expectancy increases fast while the birthrate is going down," Lee Hae-jeong, a senior economist at HRI, said in the report. "The South should use the North's manpower to alleviate the problem caused by the loss of the working population."
Lee suggested that the South seek ways to hire Northern labor in light industries first in the short-term, and then extend it to other industries.
"The South had better employ the North Korean population in light industries, which is struggling to find workers. For the long-term perspective, the South needs to develop job education programs for the Northern workers," Lee said.
The two Koreas have jointly operated the inter-Korean economic zone Gaesong Industrial Complex since 2006, and currently more than 30,000 North Koreans work there.
There will be one more synergistic effect if both Koreas cooperate in the population policy. In 2008, there were 100.9 men per 100 women in the South, while there were 97.2 men per 100 women in the North, the report said. However, when calculating the population of both Koreas, there were 99.7 men per 100 women.
Meanwhile, the total population of the South is expected to hit a record high of 49.5 million in 2023 and go down to 49.1 million by 2030 and 44.1 million by 2050, the HRI said based on data of the 2008 U.N. World Population Prospects. For the North, it may go up to 25.3 million in 2032, and then go down to 24.6 million in 2050.