Jung Woo-sung's 'Extramarital Child Scandal' and Na Kyung-won's Proposal to Promote Registered Cohabitation to Overcome Low Birthrate

Overcoming Low Birthrate and Protecting Children Born to Unmarried Parents
"However, Same-Sex Registered Cohabitation Cannot Be Recognized"

Regarding the recent uproar over Jung Woo-sung (51) and model Moon Ga-bi (35) due to an 'extramarital child scandal,' which has sparked discussions extending to 'non-marital childbirth,' Na Kyung-won, a member of the People Power Party, stated that "to overcome low birth rates and also to protect children born out of non-marital relationships, the registered cohabitation marriage system should be recognized," and announced plans to push for legislation to introduce 'registered cohabitation marriage.'

Na Kyung-won, People Power Party member [Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@]

On the 30th, Na posted on her social media, "Recently, the controversy over a certain actor's non-marital childbirth has been intense," adding, "Although this issue is somewhat different, interest in various forms of birth continues."

She first focused on the case of France. "France introduced registered cohabitation marriage (PACS) in 1999. It lowers the marriage barrier for young people who find divorce procedures burdensome," she explained, adding, "Cohabitation marriage provides the same family allowances, unemployment benefits, and various tax benefits as legal marriage." She further explained, "Registered cohabitation marriage is a contract, while legal marriage is a marriage. Therefore, the former ends by contract termination, and the latter ends by divorce. The former does not involve alimony or property division, whereas the latter primarily concerns alimony and property division." She noted, "In France, about 70% of registered cohabitations transition into legal marriages, and about 30% are terminated."

She viewed the high barriers to marriage in Korea as stemming from traditional perceptions. "For our young people, the traditional view that marriage is a union between families is still quite dominant, and the burdens of divorce procedures and post-divorce consequences are also considerable," she said. "As a result, the barriers to marriage remain quite high, leading to late marriages and non-marriage, which not only raises the average age of first childbirth but also causes the number of first-time mothers aged 36-40 to exceed those aged 26-30, fundamentally making the birth of a second child more difficult," she analyzed.

"It is true that the trend of registering marriage after cohabitation is increasing significantly these days. The percentage of people who believe that children can be born without marriage rose from 30% in 2014 to 43% last year, and in 2023, 4.7% of all births occurred outside of legal marriage," she said. "Now, the registered cohabitation marriage system should be recognized not only as a measure to overcome low birth rates but also to protect children born out of non-marital relationships. I will soon prepare and submit a bill." However, she also added the view that "unlike France, registered cohabitation marriage cannot be recognized for same-sex couples," emphasizing the need to fully consider the Korean context.