The Biggest Concern of Low Birthrate Impact Is "Tax Increase"

Siheung City Announces 2024 Social Survey Results
Top Priority for Regional Development: "Expansion of Transportation Infrastructure"

Residents of Siheung City, Gyeonggi Province, identified 'tax increases' as their biggest concern related to low birth rates.

Siheung City announced the results of the "2024 Siheung City Social Survey" containing this information on the 16th. The survey was conducted from August 29 to September 12 last year to understand citizens' overall awareness and satisfaction with their lives. The survey covered 57 items across seven categories, including family and household, environment, health, social integration and community, safety, and characteristics of Siheung City, targeting household members aged 15 and older from a sample of 1,005 households in the area.

The survey results showed that social concerns related to low birth rates were highest for 'tax increases' at 32.5%. Concerns about 'pension depletion' and 'reduction in welfare benefits' followed at 20.0% and 18.3%, respectively. Notably, concern over pension depletion rose from 14.9% in 2018 and 17.0% in 2022 to 20.0% in 2024. Similarly, concern about welfare benefit reductions increased from 12.4% to 18.3% during the same period.

The proportion of dual-income couples steadily increased from 35.7% in 2018 to 50.3% in 2022 and 58.3% in 2024. However, perceptions of household chore sharing remain largely traditional. While 50.9% responded that "the wife mainly does the chores and the husband also shares," only 19.5% said chores are "shared equally." Among those in their 40s, the age group with the highest dual-income rate, 63.0% responded that "the wife mainly does the chores."

Regarding necessary policies by social class, infants and toddlers prioritized "creating a safe childcare environment (53.2%)," children emphasized "expanding care institutions (41.1%)," women highlighted "support for employment and entrepreneurship for women experiencing career interruptions (38.2%)," and youth selected "job creation and entrepreneurship support (46.4%)" as the most important policies.

For successful settlement of foreign residents, "language and cultural education (53.8%)" was the top policy, while for welfare services for the disabled, "expansion of welfare facilities for the disabled (24.3%)" was identified as necessary.

Satisfaction with local environment and medical services improved. Satisfaction with green spaces rose to 57.8% compared to 2022, while satisfaction with air quality (47.6%) and water quality (45.5%) increased by 2.1 and 5.6 percentage points, respectively.

Regarding medical services, 65.7% of all respondents expressed satisfaction. Dissatisfaction with "accessibility to medical institutions" decreased from 28.5% in 2018 to 18.0% in 2024.

The top priority for regional development was "expansion of transportation infrastructure (27.6%)." The proportions of respondents who chose "revitalization of the local economy" and "creation of a pleasant urban environment" were 18.0% and 13.4%, respectively.

Detailed results of this survey can be viewed on the Siheung City Hall website.