Economic, Financial, and Religious Sectors Gather to Form the 'Low Birthrate Overcoming Task Force'

Progress on Related Forums and Policy Research

Economic organizations including the Korea Employers Federation, along with the financial sector, academia, and religious communities, are jointly promoting private-led efforts to overcome low birth rates.

The Korea Employers Federation announced on the 13th that it launched the "Low Birth Rate Overcoming Promotion Headquarters" on the 23rd of last month and has begun full-scale activities.

The Low Birth Rate Overcoming Promotion Headquarters is a private-led cooperative system composed of representatives from the economic sector, financial sector, academia, broadcasting, and religious communities. The joint leadership team includes representatives from the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of Banks, Korean Broadcasting System, KAIST, and the Council of Korean Religious Leaders. At the regional level, five headquarters have been sequentially established: Gyeongnam Headquarters, Busan Headquarters, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Headquarters, Chungbuk Headquarters, and Jeju Headquarters. In the future, additional regional headquarters will be added in Chuncheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Jeonju, bringing the total to nine regional headquarters. These regional headquarters will continue to ▲strengthen cooperation within local communities ▲develop programs to address low birth rate issues at the regional level ▲and carry out voluntary community campaigns.

Six major economic organizations, including the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Economic Association, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, are also planning various activities. First, together with the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee, they began a "Regional Extinction Response Forum" on the 9th, visiting major local areas to listen to on-site opinions related to low birth rate responses and to explore customized policy directions. A performance sharing meeting for discovering "Work-Family Balance Excellent Companies" is also scheduled to be held this month. Additionally, they plan to conduct policy research projects such as "Joint Labor-Management Cooperation Plans to Overcome the Low Birth Rate Crisis."

(Provided by Korea Employers Federation)

Lee Dong-geun, full-time vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation and secretary of the Promotion Headquarters, emphasized, "Population issues are matters concerning the survival and future of the Republic of Korea, so they must be resolved through solidarity and cooperation among all actors in our society," adding, "As a member of the Promotion Headquarters, the Korea Employers Federation plans to establish business directions and focus its capabilities so that efforts to overcome low birth rates can become sustainable competitiveness for both labor and management."