Health, Welfare Minister
Jeon Jae-hee |
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
If you think Health and Welfare Minister Jeon Jae-hee is a business-as-usual, desk-bound, pencil-pushing member of the Cabinet, brace yourself for a surprise.
As the minister charged with finding measures to raise Korea's low birthrate, she has come up with a series of "small but clever ideas" to set her ministry officials in the vanguard.
She conducted a "Wednesday Lights Out" program to let workers go home early and spend quality time with their spouses. The officials privately called the program "procreation night."
The former labor ministry bureaucrat also went toe to toe with Finance and Strategy Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun about a conflict of policy on medical tourism.
Now, she is playing the role of matchmaker with Lotte Department Store CEO Lee Chul-woo for more than 60 workers willing to start families. The three-course program will kick off on March 22 at a downtown Seoul hotel with plenty of recreational events and romantic dates through May, the ministry said Thursday.
At the so-called "Love Studio," 30 males and 30 females under 35 will learn to rumba, dine and enjoy recreational events alongside listening to lectures from Professor Song Jin-gu of Juseong University on the "value of choice."
The matchmaking agency "Soohyun" will organize the whole process by analyzing each participant's character and willingness.
Those over 35 will be given the opportunity to take part in speed dating. The two organizations are also planning one-on-one blind dates for all hopefuls.
A ministry official said the program was a hit among its staff. "Seventeen males and 41 females at the ministry, and 18 men and 42 women at the department stores applied to participate, just two days after the opening in February," she said.
"About 1,350 out of the total 4,500 regular staff are unmarried and 300 of them are over 35 years old," Lotte said in a press release. Chung Seong-wook, a Lotte employee who applied to take part, expressed high hopes.
"It is true that many are smothered by an endless workload and cannot manage to find a partner. Maybe this will lead to me finding someone special," he said.
The low birthrate has long been a headache for Jeon, who worries that fewer babies being born will worsen various state-finances, including the national pension and national health insurance, among others. Ironically, the family ministry workers' average rate of 1.66 per couple is below the average of civil servants ㅡ 1.82.
There were only 34 births at the 858 member-organization last year.
To boost the rate, the ministry has introduced incentives for officials having more than two children.
Gift vouchers worth 2 million won will be presented upon the birth of a second child while the amount will be raised to 3 million won for a third.
Workers who take maternity or paternity leave will not be put at a disadvantage when it comes to promotion. Female workers with children under 12 months old will also be able to work more flexible schedules. Pregnant workers will be excluded from any emergency work.
In January, the ministry turned off the lights at offices at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday to encourage workers to return home and enjoy quality time with their families, which could hopefully lead to procreation.
The ministry is planning to continue with this idea in the near future with its affiliates and other corporations.
In a previous interview with The Korea Times, the minister said, "It is obvious that my primary and ultimate goal as family minister is to lift the birthrate.
"It won't be too long before our children are burdened with supporting the elderly. Korea may lose out in global economic competition due to a lack of manpower. It is actually the most urgent and important issue the country is facing."
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
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