South Korea declares 'national demographic emergency'

According to Yonhap, President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke at a meeting on "low birth rates and an aging population" held at the Seongnam R&D Center, south of the capital Seoul.

Stating that the government will make every effort to combat the low birth rate, Yoon said, "Today, I am officially declaring a national demographic emergency. We will activate a comprehensive response system until the low birth rate issue is overcome."

Yoon stated that they will focus on three main areas in this context: "balancing work and life, improving childcare, and providing better housing."

Promising to increase support for childcare to alleviate the educational burden on parents and to expand after-school programs in elementary schools, Yoon noted that a temporary Ministry of Population Strategy Planning will be established to ensure the implementation of these measures.

In 2023, South Korea ranked first among countries with the lowest birth rates, at 0.72.

Data shared by Statistics Korea on March 19 regarding the number of newborn children showed that the downward trend in the annual number of births in the country has continued in recent years.

News Source: AA