President Yoon Suk Yeol’s announcement to create a ministry to cope with Korea's falling birthrates and aging society is timely, if not too late. Considering its profound impact on the economy and society, the population crisis is an urgent issue that must be tackled.
As always, however, identifying problems is easier than finding solutions. This holds true for Korea’s fight to stop falling birthrates.
The Korean government took the downward spiral of the total fertility rate seriously and unveiled numerous measures, including expanding free child care and parental leave, in hopes of stopping the trend. But few of them were effective.
According to Statistics Korea, the nation’s total fertility rate last year marked 0.73, down further from 0.78 the previous year.
In Korea, having children is a decision requiring married couples to contemplate various factors. Job security, education costs, work and family balance and child care are some of the key issues people consider when they make that decision. The economy has grown fast and society has become wealthier. But people increasingly feel insecure about their livelihoods. This is the root cause of falling birthrates.
Because of the complex nature of the total fertility rate, policymakers are advised to take a holistic approach.
Yoon said the new ministry, if established, will be tasked with overseeing and formulating effective policies encompassing welfare, education and labor. He declared a state of emergency, vowing to mobilize all possible means to stabilize the population.
The government’s previous policy efforts to boost the total fertility rate were fragmented as several different ministries unveiled scattered measures. The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy has served as a sort of control tower but its role was rather symbolic because like other committees, it is not authorized to implement certain policies.
Yoon’s idea to create a ministry responsible for stopping the population crisis came against this backdrop.
Creating a new ministry requires a revision of the Government Structure Act, which means the revised bill needs approval from the National Assembly.
Unlike other issues, establishing a new ministry for overseeing the population crisis may be relatively easier in terms of reaching a bipartisan agreement. Both the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) vowed to create an independent ministry addressing birthrates, although they label it differently.
The real challenge, however, will come after the creation of the new ministry.
To consolidate birthrate-related jurisdiction in the new ministry, restructuring of other related ministries, such as welfare, labor and education, will be inevitable. Resistance, lobbying and infighting can happen among ministries not wanting to lose their turf. The will of the government is more than important to push through the overhauling of jurisdictions.
Risks lurk in creating a new ministry. Small government is a global trend. Calls are mounting for minimizing government intervention in the private sector. Establishing a new ministry goes against this trend.
If not properly managed, a new ministry can also be a waste of taxpayer money.
The new ministry can end up being “an unnecessary house built above an existing one,” to use a Korean adage referring to busywork.
The government should thoroughly evaluate whether the establishment of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 1998 helped fulfill its initial goal of what activists call “gender mainstreaming” in this society. It remains uncertain whether women’s representation in public office and the private sector has improved over the past two decades since the ministry was established. Few can answer confidently whether there has been any marked improvement in women’s rights after the establishment of the gender equality ministry.
To prevent Yoon’s idea of establishing a new ministry from becoming another policy failure, a well-planned strategy and a visionary leader are the two foremost things that need to be actioned, prior to its establishment.