Yoon vows incentives for companies supporting work-life balance

President Yoon Suk Yeol presides over the 4th Emergency Population Strategy Meeting held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday, under the theme of "Sharing the Achievements of Companies Excelling in Work-Family Balance." Yoon said overcoming the current population crisis in Korea will be possible only when childbirth and parenting are viewed as positive experiences. He called for changes to workplace environments and cultures to enable young people to balance hard work and joyful parenting. Yonhap

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday the government will introduce tax and other incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises that take steps to support employees' work-life balance as part of efforts to encourage young people to have more children.

During a meeting aimed at addressing the country's low birth rate, Yoon said the government will come up with various incentives, such as tax breaks, grants and loans, emphasizing the need to create work environments that allow employees to balance their careers and family life.

"We can overcome the demographic crisis when giving birth and raising children becomes a happy experience," Yoon said, noting fostering such an environment would ultimately benefit corporate competitiveness.

Other incentives include preferential treatment in government bidding and deferral of tax audits, he said.

Korea's fertility rate hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, down from 0.78 in the previous year. (Yonhap)