By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

A parliamentary think tank called on policymakers Monday to consider immigration reform when charting a strategy to fight the nation's falling birthrates.

In a paper titled, "Low Birthrates, Ageing Society and Immigration Policy," the National Assembly Research Service (NARS) recommended that the government rewrite immigration policy to attract highly-skilled workers.

Before coming up with the recommendation document, the think tank requested Gallup to conduct a public opinion survey last year to gauge Koreans' overall view of migrant workers.

The Gallup poll of 1,009 people conducted Dec. 22 reported that Koreans were open-minded to immigrated workers.

Respondents said that migrant workers were diligent and contributed to cultural diversity, and therefore they would welcome foreigners if they joined their workplace.

They said that foreign workers were helpful in reducing labor shortages in the manufacturing sector.

About 92 percent of respondents said they would welcome them as neighbors, while 87 percent responded that migrant workers deserved more social benefits than they get now.

The survey also found that 50.6 percent of Koreans believe allowing the immigration of foreign workers could increase social problems or crime.

Asked what measures the government should adopt to attract more immigrants, 30 percent said Korea needs to fix discriminatory practices by raising public awareness of cultural diversity.

The institute indicated Koreans' overall positive evaluation of the role of foreign workers would make it easier for the government to consider immigration as a measure to fight the falling birthrate.

"Maternity leave, subsidies and other monetary compensations have proven to be ineffective in stopping falling birthrates in 40 European nations. Several empirical studies suggest that immigration is the option to take," the paper said.

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of the United States in 2007 was 2.1, indicating that an average American woman has two children.

The birthrate of white Americans was 1.7, while those of ethnic minority groups, such as Hispanics (3.0) and African-Americans (2.4), were higher.

Britain and Switzerland also have similar experiences of higher birthrates among ethnic minorities.

To attract high-skilled workers, the report recommended that the government offer supportive measures in education, social welfare and tax benefits to foreign workers and their families.


hkang@koreatimes.co.kr