Women forced to give up on childbirth

Birthrate unlikely to rise soon unless fundamental social changes

By Lee Kyung-min

Hahn Hye-jin, 31, an office worker at a Seoul-based company, is not planning to get pregnant any time soon, although she has been married for almost three years.

“All my working-mom friends are saying that raising children, especially infants, is an enormous burden,” she said.

Although the idea of having a child is heartwarming, Hahn said she is not sure whether she is, or will ever be, ready to take on childrearing responsibilities for the rest of her life.

She is not alone. Childcare responsibilities are pushing Korea’s birthrate down to almost the world’s lowest level. According to Statistics Korea last year, the nation’s birthrate was 1.2, meaning that women gives birth to an average of 1.2 babies during her lives. The rate has remained at about that level for almost a decade.

The financial burden is the biggest reason for not having children, Hahn said.

“I have to work, and there is no one to take care of my baby while I’m out, unless I hire a babysitter paying almost 1 million won, which is almost a third of my monthly income,” she said.

According to a survey by Hyundai Research Institute of 540 single and married people last year, 74 percent of the respondents said the financial burden is the major reason for people to delay, or give up on the idea of having children.

If a babysitter is unavailable, many working mothers have to ask their family members to take care of the babies, and this is also uncomfortable, Hahn said.

“My working-mom friends are miserable because they have to always kowtow to the caretaker, either family members or babysitters, although they are already under a lot of stress from work. I don’t think I can go through the same ordeal,” she said.

Once they get past the point where their children are old enough, the need for a babysitter is replaced with a bigger problem: education costs.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare last year, parents here needed 380 million won ($332,800) on average to raise one child from birth to university graduation, meaning they spend an average of 1.2 million won a month.

“I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Ewha Womans University that cost well over 70 million won. I come from a fairly modest background, and I don’t think that for my children, I can do what my parents did for me,” said a 31-year-old woman who wished to be identified by only her surname, Choi.

Corporate culture discouraging moms-to-be

Jeon Kyung-ah, an office worker at a Seoul branch of an international bank, said that headhunters asked her how long she has been married, and they wanted to know if she plans to get pregnant. Jeon has been married for two years.

“They never ask the question directly, but I know that companies are reluctant to hire someone that will potentially cost them maternity leave payment.”

However, few are aware that asking such questions is illegal. Under the law, employers who ask questions irrelevant to an applicant’s capability for carrying out the job, such as appearance or marital status, are subject to a fine of up to 5 million won.

Jeon’s company guarantees paid maternity leave, but the situation is far bleaker for non-regular workers. They suffer from not only the same financial and childrearing burdens, but also fear of losing their jobs.

Womenlink, a women’s rights group, said it is receiving increasing numbers of consultation requests from women whose employers are forcing them to quit after learning about their pregnancy.

Although they can file a suit against their employers if they are unfairly fired or denied maternity leave, few can afford the legal action, according to the Seoul Women Workers’ Association. “Many of such workers have small incomes, so legal action is almost a luxury they cannot dare dream of,” an official of the association said.

Under the law, a worker on maternity leave can receive up to 1.3 million won per month for up to three months from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). However, the agency said about 17,000 of the 105,633 female workers who gave birth last year were dismissed or denied leave.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor submitted a revision bill last month to implement harsher punishment against companies that dismiss pregnant workers unfairly.

Currently, employers who dismiss pregnant workers are subject to up to five years in prison or up to a 30 million won fine, and those who refuse to allow maternity leave are subject to up to two years in prison or a 10 million won fine. However, the ministry is unable to punish all violators because it is difficult for them to identify the cases unless workers file a complaint.

Government policy simply off the point

Although the government is striving to find ways to encourage young adults to get married and have children, many of its policies are simply missing the point.

The health ministry introduced a number of measures on Oct. 21. One of the plans, which drew public uproar and cynicism against the government, is to lower the school entry age from 6 to 5, and reduce the number of school years at elementary and secondary school from six to five for both.

The measure came from the idea that young people would marry earlier and the birthrate would rise if they finish their education earlier. People criticized that the government is incapable of understanding what the real problem is in this situation.

“The government measure is absolutely stupid. I am ashamed to be calling it my government,” a 27-year old jobseeker, surnamed Kim, said. “They do not understand the fundamental reason that young people are discouraged by the harsh economic situation and end up shunning marriage.”

Examples from other countries

Sweden guarantees women on maternity leave 80 percent of their monthly income, while Korea only covers 40 percent. In France, which maintains the stable birthrate of 1.9, the government covers all costs relating to pregnancy including medical, pharmaceutical and hospitalization expenses, according to a European Commission report.

The report also states that cash benefits are given to pregnant women or women on maternity leave if they quit their jobs. Their daily allowance is similar to their average daily earnings from the previous three months.