South Korea declares a demographic disaster, upset by its residents’ willingness to have youngsters

Jakarta –

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a “nationwide inhabitants disaster,” launching measures to broaden support to extend beginning charges.

“The inhabitants disaster attributable to a really low beginning charge is a big and pressing downside for South Korea,” he stated, including that the speedy inhabitants decline has now develop into a problem which has raised issues about survival in South Korea, reported the Straits Occasions.

South Korea, which has one of many lowest fertility charges on this planet, is experiencing one other decline in beginning charges. Final month, Statistics Korea printed knowledge exhibiting that the nation’s beginning charge had fallen 8 % in 2023 to 0.72 in comparison with 2022 at 0.78.

Acknowledging the urgency of the issue, Yoon stated the federal government was launching a complete emergency response system. This contains the creation of the Inhabitants Technique Division, a brand new ministry to cope with the inhabitants disaster.

Based on the Korea Herald report, housing prices, together with the price of shopping for or renting a home, are the largest elements affecting married {couples} in having youngsters.

Consultants say that the explanations for the demographic shift are the calls for of labor tradition, wage stagnation, rising residing prices, adjustments in attitudes in the direction of work tradition and gender equality, in addition to the rising rising discontent among the many youth.

The federal government has taken a number of measures to scale back inhabitants decline. Ranging from giving incentives to asking for lengthy go away for folks to maintain youngsters.

The South Korean authorities will even present versatile working hours, lengthen the age restrict for decreased working hours for folks with younger youngsters and supply subsidies to employers who rent momentary staff for staff on parental go away.

Watch video” Hong Kong residents desire to have cats than infants“

(kna/kna)