Park Mijeong of Gwangju City Council: "City Allocates Zero Budget for Paternity Leave for Men"

Policy Implementation Neglected Despite Ordinance Established
"Birth Rate Among Lowest Nationwide... Urgent Need for Solutions"

Park Mijeong, Gwangju City Councilor.

It has been revealed that although Gwangju City established an ordinance to promote paternity leave for men, the city has not reflected any related projects, drawing criticism.

On June 10, Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Dong-gu 2), criticized the city during the Women's and Family Bureau settlement review, stating, "More than a year has passed since the ordinance was implemented, yet not a single project has been pursued."

The "Gwangju City Ordinance for the Promotion and Encouragement of Paternity Leave for Men," which Councilor Park spearheaded in 2023, aims to foster a culture of gender-equal caregiving and to provide institutional support for fathers' participation in childrearing.

Park emphasized, "The policy direction and foundation have already been established, but the city has no intention of implementing them," and added, "The city must properly pursue the paternity leave policy for men, which is the first step toward gender-equal caregiving."

Last year, Gwangju's total fertility rate was 0.70, falling short of the national average of 0.75 and ranking among the lowest in the country, following Seoul and Busan. The city has allocated 291.9 billion won in its budget last year alone to address low birth rates, with billions of won invested each year. However, the number of births has continued to decline, with 7,446 in 2022, 6,172 in 2023, and 6,043 in 2024.

Park pointed out, "A rebound in the birth rate cannot be achieved through short-term financial support," and stressed, "It is urgent to establish a comprehensive, family-centered care system covering from infancy to school age, and to expand public responsibility for caregiving."