Korea's fertility rate expected to fall even further to 0.7 in 2024

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The government said Thursday it will boost policy efforts to tackle the country's low birthrate that has been aggravated during the COVID-19 pandemic as Korea will likely suffer a severe fall in the working-age population in the coming years.

The administration plans to launch a fourth pan-government task force this month to deal with demographic challenges, including a fall in the population and the emergence of a super-aged society, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The ministry said the country plans to discuss ways to make its "super" low birthrate rebound in the coming years.

The government said it plans to increase tax benefits and other incentives for marriage and childbirth for young people. It will come up with measures to encourage more couples to use parental leave and strengthen childcare services.

The country will also consider revamping the National Pension System amid concerns that the pension fund could dry up faster than expected amid rapid aging.

At the current pace, the National Pension Fund is expected to start to post a deficit in 2039 and completely dry up by 2055, according to a 2020 report by the National Assembly Budget Office.

South Korea faces a grim demographic situation as its working-age population is expected to fall at a fast pace.

The country's total population is estimated to have recorded its first decline last year due to the country's chronically low birthrate, rapid aging and a decline in incoming foreigners amid the pandemic.

The country's total fertility rate ― the average number of children a woman could bear in her lifetime ― hit a record low of 0.84 last year, much lower than the replacement level of 2.1 that would keep South Korea's population stable at 52 million.

The rate is forecast to nosedive to 0.7 in 2024 before rebounding to 1.0 in 2031.

Many young people are delaying or giving up on getting married or having babies due to economic difficulties and changes in social norms. The number of those getting married fell sharply due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The trend is feared to aggravate a major drop in the working-age population, a phenomenon known as a demographic cliff.

In 2020, the working-age population, or people aged 15 to 64, came to 37.4 million, accounting for 72.1 percent of the total population. Baby boomers, born between 1955 and 1963, began reaching age 65 last year.

The population is forecast to fall an average of 360,000 per year in the 2020s and decline 530,000 per year in the 2030s. (Yonhap)