Population Cliff Era, Low Birthrate Response Measures and Population Policy Discussions
Goyang City's Birthrate 0.695... "Revitalizing the Local Economy is the Key to Tackling Low Birthrate"
Mayor Donghwan Lee: "Creating Growth Engines Centered on Advanced Industries to Overcome the Population Crisis"
Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced on the 15th that it held the 2024 Goyang Special City Population Policy Forum (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Forum’) on the 14th at the Baekseok Office Building under the theme “How to Respond to the Low Birthrate Phenomenon?”
Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang Special City, is delivering a greeting at the 2nd Goyang Special City Population Policy Forum held on the 14th. Photo by Goyang Special City
This forum is the second population policy-related forum conducted by Goyang Special City, organized to diagnose the current population crisis and discuss countermeasures for low birthrate and directions for population policy implementation.
At the forum, population policy, welfare, women, and childcare experts including Kim Hyun-ho, Director of Goyang Research Institute; Kim Hyung-mo, Professor of Social Welfare at Gyeonggi University; Kim Hyo-jung, Director of the Childcare Comprehensive Support Center; Koo Mi-soon, Chairperson of the Regional Children’s Center Council; and Jung Bal-shin, Director of Seongseong Regional Children’s Center, along with related city department heads, gathered to show strong interest in population policy.
According to statistics, Goyang City’s total fertility rate in 2023 was 0.695, which is lower than the national average of 0.721 and the Gyeonggi Province average of 0.766. In 2022, the city also experienced its first natural population decline, highlighting the urgent need to establish population policies to respond to the low birthrate and aging population crisis.
Kim Soo-yeon, Research Professor at the Seoul National University Institute of Health and Environment, who gave the keynote presentation, analyzed the population policy status of various local governments in Gyeonggi Province and emphasized the need for ▲a paradigm shift to population strategy ▲policy promotion from an investment perspective ▲and bridge policies tailored to each life cycle.
Dr. Jang In-soo from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs suggested ▲improving residential conditions ▲precise design and performance evaluation in the policy-making process ▲and promoting regional development strategies through easing inefficient regulations and designating special zones.
In the discussion session, chaired by Professor Kim Hyung-mo of Gyeonggi University, Park Ji-hyun, representative of the Goyang City Youth Policy Council, and Yoon Ji-hye, a teacher at Hansu Elementary School, participated to discuss the realities faced by youth and parents and their expectations for Goyang Special City.
Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang Special City stated, “We are facing a more serious population cliff than ever before,” and emphasized, “Goyang Special City will overcome the population crisis by creating growth engines through industrial structure transformation centered on advanced industries such as ▲bio and precision medicine ▲K-culture ▲urban air mobility ▲AI and robotics, attracting anchor companies via the currently promoted Economic Free Zone and Goyang Ilsan Techno Valley.”
He added, “I hope that today’s forum, through the insights of experts, will be a great force not only for Goyang Special City but also for overcoming the crisis of humanity.”
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