Choi Jung-woo, POSCO Chairman, "Making Efforts to Propose Corporate-Level Solutions to 'Low Birthrate'"

'Low Birthrate and Aging Population Response National Strategy Seminar' Held

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group. (Photo by POSCO Holdings)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "Since declaring 'corporate citizenship' as our management philosophy in 2018, we have selected low birthrate as one of the representative social issues that companies, as members of the social community, must address, and have been striving to present corporate-level solutions to the low birthrate problem."

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group, said this at a national strategy seminar on responding to low birthrate and aging held on the 26th at the Art Hall on the 4th floor of the POSCO Center in Seoul, hosted by POSCO in collaboration with the Korea Economic Research Institute, HanmiGlobal, Seoul National University, and SK. Chairman Choi emphasized, "We must work together with the government and various social members, including companies, to create tangible results in solving the low birthrate issue."

Population experts attending the seminar diagnosed the current status of low birthrate and aging in South Korea and discussed public-private-academic cooperation plans for sustainable development. Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General and Honorary Director of Seoul National University’s Institute for Future Strategies, said, "The biggest threat our country faces today is low birthrate and aging, as the population of South Korea has been declining since 2020," adding, "The government, politicians, and all citizens must unite to prepare measures such as good jobs, housing issues, work-family balance, gender equality, and reduction of private education expenses." Kim Jong-hoon, Chairman of HanmiGlobal, also stated, "The low birthrate and aging problem in South Korea is a critical issue directly linked to the nation's survival," and highlighted, "It is significant that not only experts in the low birthrate field but also our companies have stepped forward actively."

During the keynote presentations, speakers included Professor Jung Hyun-sook of Korea National Open University, author of 'Population Crisis Nation Japan'; Professor Jeon Young-soo of Hanyang University, author of 'South Korea Population Trends'; and Professor Eun Ki-soo of Seoul National University, former president of the Korean Population Association. In particular, Professor Eun delivered a lecture on corporate efforts to become a role model for overcoming low birthrate, citing POSCO’s exemplary cases such as ▲introduction of childbirth and childcare support systems ▲improvement of future generation awareness ▲national agenda setting for policies to overcome low birthrate and aging.

In the subsequent panel discussion, Kim Byung-yeon, Director of Seoul National University’s Institute for Future Strategies, and Professor Kim Se-yong of Korea University participated to discuss ▲Japan’s national crisis due to low birthrate and aging and national strategies for South Korea’s future response ▲public-private-academic cooperation plans to solve the population cliff ▲corporate response measures to population issues.

The policy ideas derived from the seminar include ▲establishment of a ministerial-level department responsible for population issues ▲introduction of advanced childcare leave work systems to encourage childbirth ▲strengthening the effectiveness of all-day childcare services to resolve care gaps ▲addressing legal status issues of migrant women childcare helpers and introducing a qualification certification system ▲establishing stable domestic settlement plans for outstanding foreign technical talents. The organizer, HanmiGlobal, plans to produce separate materials on these ideas and provide them to the government and National Assembly.

As part of 'Life With POSCO,' one of the five major corporate citizenship brands, POSCO has opened shared-type joint workplace daycare centers and improved childbirth and childcare support systems for employees. Since 2019, POSCO has held an annual low birthrate policy symposium. Last year, POSCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Health and Welfare for mutual cooperation on future generation population education projects and is actively working to create social discourse related to population issues.