The Moon Jae-in administration has unveiled a set of measures aimed at boosting the country's low birthrate. The package, the fourth of its kind since 2006, comes from the government's self-reflection that the previous attempts have failed to reverse the trend.
The package, drawn up by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, proposes paying a monthly allowance of 300,000 won ($274) for every newborn and infants up to the age of one year starting in 2022, and raising the sum to 500,000 won in 2025. The allowance will be separate from an existing monthly allowance of 100,000 won for each child under the age of seven. Couples expecting a baby will get a 2 million won cash bonus starting in 2022, and the current 600,000 won medical expense support for each pregnant woman will rise to 1 million won. Other measures include cash incentives for those going on parental leave and more benefits for families with multiple children.
The measures are in line with a broader plan to spend 196 trillion won by 2025 to combat the low birthrate, but seem piecemeal, given the severity of our demographic crisis. In 2019, the country's total fertility rate (TFR) ― which statistically measures the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime ― hit rock bottom at 0.92, the lowest among OECD member countries. South Korea was the only country in the world that had a rate below one. This year's birthrate is expected to be as low as 0.8.
There are various factors behind this sustained downturn in childbirths. In short, our country is not a good place to live in, so passing down the burden to our children is not preferable. In this context, it's right that the government has set “improving the quality of life” as the catchphrase for boosting the birthrate.
What's important is to implement the proposed policies faithfully so that they can produce desired results.