[In-Depth Look] Who Will Step Up for Low Fertility and Low Birth Rates?

Starting next year, the 4th Basic Plan for Low Fertility and Aging Society will be implemented. This is the plan that many people have criticized, saying, "Despite spending over a hundred trillion won on low fertility budgets, no results have been achieved." However, most of the so-called "spent" low fertility budget is actually a compilation of budgets submitted by various government ministries to the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee. Can readers easily connect projects like the "Software-Centered University Support Project" or "University Humanities Competency Enhancement" to the low fertility budget? Hundreds of billions, thousands of billions, and over a decade have been accumulated, and the government and media have misled the public into believing that tens of trillions of won were spent solely on low fertility budgets.

As a result, policies related to low fertility and low birth rates have become unpopular topics perceived as "useless no matter how much money is spent." The Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee is a presidential advisory committee chaired by the president himself. While there are many government committees, only a few are presidential advisory committees. Among them, only a handful are chaired by the president. However, it is rare to see the president personally taking care of these matters. Considering the revival of the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee, which was almost neglected by the previous administration, this is disappointing. So why is it difficult to hear the president talk about low fertility and low birth rates? Why does the president only meet with the vice-chair once or twice a year without empowering them?

The reasons can only be speculated, but there are two main possibilities. First, the government may have judged that demographic changes such as low fertility and aging do not have significant policy implications. There were numerous predictions that low fertility and aging would bring problems such as the burden of supporting the elderly population, labor shortages in various social sectors, and imbalances and disparities between sectors. However, with the establishment of future industrial structures like the 4th Industrial Revolution, labor productivity has dramatically increased, and it may have been judged that labor mobility and job redistribution between industrial and economic sectors can adequately respond to these issues.

Jaehoon Jeong, Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Seoul Women's University

Second, unlike in the past when the state could enforce birth control, now it cannot compel people to have children. As seen in the cases up to the 3rd Basic Plan, assembling a few key projects as a response to low fertility has become insufficient to prevent the disappearance of the sound of children crying. Even showing interest in this topic, which has no immediate effect, becomes a significant political burden for politicians, including the president. Consequently, in the past one to two years, it has been difficult to find influential politicians who adopt low fertility and low birth rates as their agenda. Since 2018, the proportion of media coverage on low fertility discourse has decreased, while mentions of low birth rates have relatively increased. However, many misunderstand that simply talking about low birth rates implies a gender-equal image. The terminology has changed, but the content has not.

Injecting material resources, such as expanding the basic pension, can reduce elderly poverty rates. However, unless social innovation occurs throughout the entire life cycle?from deciding to have a child, raising the child, to the parents becoming elderly?it is difficult to expect a rebound in low fertility and low birth rates. Korean society has deteriorated to the extent that the number of people who give up having children or make extreme choices ranks highest among OECD member countries. This situation will not change by merely altering or increasing a few policy tasks.

Gender equality must be fundamental. Traditional views on family must change. There must be a social safety net related to jobs, housing, healthcare, and income. Educational reform is necessary so that children can grow up playing. Labor market reforms enabling equal pay for equal work and work-life balance must also be implemented. Regional discrimination, where people's value differs depending on where they live, must shift toward regional balance. These are not matters that can show effects within a few years. A grand reconstruction project for the Republic of Korea must be proposed, demanding participation, compromise, sacrifice, and pain from everyone. Who will step forward?

Jaehoon Jeong, Professor, Department of Social Welfare, Seoul Women’s University

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