[Insight & Opinion] Addressing the Population Issue Through Immigration Policy

[Asia Economy] Following the population announcement by our Statistics Korea, recent reports by overseas media such as BBC and CNN have been consecutively covering South Korea's declining birth rate issue. South Korea records the lowest total fertility rate among OECD members at 0.81, while simultaneously experiencing rapid aging. Since a declining population combined with aging can lead to catastrophic consequences in areas such as pensions, education, national defense, and the economy, these reports seem aimed at raising awareness of the population issue or serving as cautionary tales.

Immediately, this population issue is closely connected to the harsh reality of rural areas where food on our daily tables cannot be produced without foreign laborers. Although South Korea excels in various fields and is gaining prominence on the global stage, its performance in population matters is disappointing. South Korea has not been idle regarding population issues. To tackle the root cause of population decline?low birth rates?it has invested astronomical budgets and made efforts in diverse areas such as childcare, education, and housing.

Despite these efforts, as no breakthrough has appeared in the economic activity field, various attempts and experiments are underway to maintain and improve productivity with a smaller population. Companies are building smart factories, various types of retail stores are rapidly becoming unmanned, and devices utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous driving and artificial intelligence have begun to emerge. Although these are not yet fully verified and realistic problems such as increased unemployment have arisen, there is a clear reason why we must actively utilize advanced technologies to overcome the various challenges caused by population decline.

However, these efforts alone have limitations. This is a global trend that all countries, whether developed or developing, are following. Here, one card South Korea might consider is immigration policy?proactively accepting immigrants. The background behind the success of developed countries like the United States, France, Canada, and Australia includes policies that actively accept high-quality immigrants. There is a forecast that China will catch up to the United States in GDP size by 2050 but will fall behind afterward. One of the main reasons for this forecast is the difference in immigration policies between the two countries. The U.S. continuously accepts immigrants from countries like Mexico, maintaining economic momentum, whereas China’s population is declining and aging.

We also believe it is necessary to actively accept selective immigration from middle-income developing countries with high birth rates and young populations, such as Mexico in Latin America and VIP countries (Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines) in Southeast Asia. In this process, it is necessary to establish sophisticated policies considering appropriate immigration acceptance scales and economic needs by sector, similar to Canada.

So far, our government has been passive about immigration, preoccupied with concerns about illegal residency and related issues. Since one agency within the Ministry of Justice has been solely responsible for immigration focusing only on eradicating illegal residency, coordination at the whole-government level has been difficult. In this regard, we hope that the government, centered on the Immigration Office currently under discussion for establishment, will respond more proactively to foreign immigration issues through bipartisan, whole-government, and nationwide consensus.

Seo Jeong-in, Ambassador to Mexico