Kim Jong-in Raises Basic Income Issue, Now Tackles 'Low Birthrate' and 'Educational Inequality'

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is attending the Emergency Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the Future United Party, has now raised the issue of educational inequality. He pointed to excessive private education expenses as one of the causes of 'low birthrate' and also mentioned the introduction of a 'full-day education system.' This marks the beginning of public discussion on issues that the United United Party had been relatively weak in addressing.

At a closed emergency committee meeting on the 8th, Chairman Kim referred to the 'low birthrate' issue as an important challenge in the 'post-COVID-19 era' and brought up the problem of educational inequality.

Kim Eun-hye, spokesperson for the emergency committee, told reporters immediately after the meeting, "Chairman Kim conveyed that the low birthrate is connected to educational inequality," adding, "We need to create an environment where people can have children, which means it is not simply a women's issue but requires a broad approach including education, childcare, and employment."

At the first emergency committee meeting on the 1st, Chairman Kim also pointed out that educational inequality is becoming entrenched, saying, "Neither progressives nor conservatives have provided answers to this problem." This showed his determination to prepare alternatives for national issues such as low birthrate, educational inequality, and private education expenses. Upon the launch of the emergency committee, Chairman Kim assigned Kim Mi-ae and Kim Hyun-ah to handle women's policies, and Sung Il-jong to oversee the education sector.

On the 8th, reports and discussions on various fields took place during the closed meeting.

During the discussion on the low birthrate issue, Chairman Kim reportedly mentioned that the full-day education system could be one alternative. One emergency committee member said in a phone interview, "One of the biggest reasons people do not have children is the cost of private education, and we discussed what role the government can play in this regard," adding, "The full-day education system was brought up, and Chairman Kim asked for it to be reviewed."

He added, "It was not an immediate call for implementation but rather an exchange of ideas," and said, "It seems that soon a workshop among emergency committee members will be held to organize various ideas."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.