By Kim Se-jeong
President Moon Jae-in defended his generous welfare policy Wednesday, arguing that in the long run it will lead to national development and the enhancement of the quality of life for citizens.
“Money spent on combating a low birthrate and creating jobs is the best way to protect citizens and create better lives for people with more jobs and social and economic developments,” Moon said at a briefing on health and welfare, women and family, and labor policies in the Sejong administrative city. Members of his cabinet, relevant ministry officials gave the briefing at which lawmakers were also present.
Moon lashed out at critics of his welfare policies. “The notion that a generous welfare policy will lead to a weaker economy is that of the past. I firmly believe that investing money in the quality of life for citizens is a real investment for the future and a way forward for Korea’s economy.”
Moon’s current welfare budget bill was passed by the National Assembly in July after a sharp partisan division. Lawmakers are likely to again clash over the expanded welfare budget for 2018.
During his remarks, Moon spent a significant time talking about the low birthrate and its implications.
“We have unsuccessfully spent 100 trillion won on reversing the low birthrate trend for the last 10 years. If this continues, Korea will face a serious crisis. And we don’t have much time. If nothing is done in a few years, it will be irreversible. The relevant ministries should mobilize all the resources they have to deal with it,” Moon said.
The President also stressed that under his leadership the government will bear responsibility of child care.
His comments came about a week after the government announced an additional 100,000 won allowance for families with young children.
Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said the government will add more after-school care centers for elementary school students so that working parents don’t have to worry about picking up their children. Park also vowed to increase the number of daycare centers and the number of assistant teachers in the daycare centers.
A shrinking young population is closely linked to youth unemployment, housing, and wage and labor issues, and the Moon government is attempting to tackle this from all possible directions. In early August, the government announced a set of strict regulations on home ownership.
Labor policy is a high priority for Moon to enable young people to get stable jobs, get married and have children.
Currently, there’s a huge pay difference between regular and irregular employees. The number of irregular jobs is rising, and employees have difficulty making ends meet.
Labor Minister Kim Young-joo said the ministry will announce a list of 852 public organizations which will voluntarily change the status of irregular workers to regular in the next few years. Kim said upending the popular culture of subcontracting is also critical in achieving equal pay. The minister also stressed the importance of reducing working hours and vowed to change the law so that people do not work more than 52 hours per week.
Gender Equality Minister Chung Hyun-baek said her ministry will continue to address the issue of working women losing their careers after having children.