Govt. plans to unveil road map to tackle low birth rate, aging population

The Yoon Suk Yeol administration plans to unveil a population strategy road map next year, coinciding with the launch of a new ministry dedicated to addressing South Korea’s declining birth rate and rapidly aging population, the presidential office announced Sunday.

You Hye-mi, senior presidential secretary for low birth rate issues, underscored the initiative, noting that "with the establishment of the ministry of population strategy and planning, defining the ministry’s vision and creating a medium- to long-term population strategy will be crucial."

"To this end, national research institutes and the government are jointly working on a 'population strategy road map,' preparing it for release concurrently with the launch of the Population Ministry next year," You said during a press briefing.

A bill to establish the ministry, envisioned as the central coordinating body for comprehensive population policies, was submitted to the National Assembly in July. In September, a pangovernmental task force was launched under the Office for Government Policy Coordination to handle essential preparations -- ranging from organizational structure to staffing and budgeting -- for the ministry’s launch.

You also unveiled an outline of new policy initiatives aimed at boosting the birth rate, with comprehensive details to be presented at the Yoon government's fifth demographic emergency response meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

As part of the measures, small and medium-sized enterprises designated as having an excellent work-family balance by the government will be eligible to apply for a deferral from tax audits starting in January next year.

A senior presidential official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that some local governments are already offering the scheme for small to medium-sized companies excelling in family-work balance, adding that it is mulling expanding the deferral of local tax audits in consultation with local governments.

You said employees will also be able to take more time off for pregnancy loss as well.

Under the plan, the government plans to increase the number of days for women who have experienced miscarriages or stillbirths to 10 days from the current five, to take steps toward fostering a care-friendly workplace culture.

"Recovering from the psychological and physical impacts of miscarriages or stillbirths from the current five days is not enough," You explained.

In addition, the government plans to allow partners of women with miscarriages or stillbirths time off so that they can recover together and support each other.

Additionally, the government is seeking to expand financial support for infertility treatments under the scheme.

"Patients unable to undergo infertility treatments due to unsuccessful egg retrieval had to return the financial aid received from local governments. We plan to make changes to this guideline so that medical expenses can continuously be supported even if their treatment gets interrupted," You said.

You also outlined the Yoon administration’s plans to gather public input and revise terms with negative connotations around parenting. Proposed changes include replacing "parental leave" with "parental immersion period" and "career-interrupted women" with "career-retained women."

"We will continue to collect feedback from relevant ministries and various sectors of society to consider adopting better terminology," You said.