Presidential Office "Hope for Birth Rate Rebound... Trend Will Continue if Marriage Penalty Is Removed"

Yoo Hyemi, Chief of Low Birthrate Response, "Expecting Better Numbers This Year Compared to Last Year"

Yoo Hye-mi, Chief of Low Birthrate Response at the Presidential Office (left), and Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, are greeting each other on the 25th at the 4th Population Emergency Measures Meeting held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, themed "Sharing Achievements of Excellent Work-Family Balance Companies."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office viewed the record increase in births in July?the largest in 12 years?as a sign of hope for a rebound in the birth rate, stating, "If efforts to eliminate the penalty on marriage continue, the rebound in the birth rate will persist."

Yoo Hyemi, the Presidential Office's Chief of Low Birthrate Response, said on the 25th during YTN's 'Newsquare 8PM,' "While we cannot predict how the numbers will come out in the second half of the year, marriage leading to the birth of the first child typically occurs with about a two-year lag. Currently, the increase in the number of marriages could lead to a rise in births later on, so it is highly likely that this trend will continue."

According to the 'July Population Trends' released by Statistics Korea that day, the number of births in July was 20,601, an increase of 1,516 (7.9%) compared to the same month last year, marking the largest increase in 12 years. Marriages showed the highest growth rate since statistics began.

Chief Yoo stated, "The cumulative number of births from January to July decreased by 1.2% compared to last year, but births in April and May increased year-on-year, and July also saw a significant rise. If this trend continues, we expect to see better numbers than last year. Our goal is to steadily pursue policies without overreacting to short-term fluctuations."

When asked about the key low birthrate response measures, she explained, "Measures are being intensively implemented in three core areas: work-family balance, alleviating childcare burdens, and housing support. Alleviating childcare burdens is also linked to education reform; through Neulbom Schools, private education burdens are eased while filling care gaps. We also provide housing support for families with newborns and newlyweds."

"Focusing on Structural Reform and Awareness Improvement"

Chief Yoo also said that future efforts will focus on structural reform. "The root cause of the low birthrate phenomenon is the concentration of everything in the metropolitan area, which intensifies competition and drives up housing prices, making it difficult to dream of marriage or childbirth. If living conditions improve in local areas and balanced development occurs, the concentration in the metropolitan area will ease, which will also help address the low birthrate," she emphasized.

She added, "This is also linked to medical and educational reforms. If health rights are guaranteed and educational conditions improve in local areas, these issues can be resolved. Low birthrate response measures are being promoted in conjunction with the four major reforms."

Chief Yoo said, "President Yoon Seok-yeol emphasizes, and we are promoting, awareness improvement. It is natural for the number of births to decline as income rises and the economy develops, but if people no longer value family as they did before or have less experience with it, they may not have a positive perception of childbirth or marriage. Therefore, we plan to continue discovering and implementing related policies through close communication with relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to improve cultural approaches and awareness."

Regarding President Yoon’s chairing of the 4th Population Emergency Measures Meeting and his decision to provide tax benefits to excellent small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) leading in work-family balance and to defer tax audits by the National Tax Service, Chief Yoo said, "President Yoon stated that bold incentives will be given to companies, especially SMEs, that demonstrate excellent success in work-family balance. Financial support will be strengthened through preferential treatment and expanded limits in policy fund execution for SMEs by relevant ministries, and incentives such as preferential treatment in government-supported projects will be provided."