Vice Minister Ki Jae: "Last Year's Number of Births Expected to be in the 270,000s, the Lowest Ever"

3rd Population Policy Task Force (TF) Launch Meeting

Kim Yong-beom, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is speaking at the '3rd Population Policy Task Force (TF) Launch Meeting' held at the Government Seoul Office in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on February 5, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Sunhee] Kim Yongbeom, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, stated on the 5th, "Last year's total fertility rate is expected to fall below 0.9, and the annual number of births is projected to be in the 270,000 range, marking an all-time low." If this projection holds true, the annual number of births will record the 200,000 range for the first time in history.

On the same day, Vice Minister Kim chaired the launch meeting of the 3rd Population Policy Task Force (TF) and expressed concern, saying, "Population risks are rapidly surfacing, and if no action is taken, the foundation of our economy and society will gradually lose competitiveness."

He also analyzed, "Starting from last year, a 'population dead cross' occurred, the population in the metropolitan area has surpassed that of non-metropolitan areas, intensifying regional hollowing, and the baby boom generation is entering old age in earnest. This represents a rapid demographic change rarely seen worldwide." The population dead cross refers to the phenomenon where the number of deaths exceeds the number of births, resulting in a population decline.

To respond to the accelerating population risks, the government formed the 3rd Population Policy TF on this day. It includes 20 government ministries, national research institutes, and experts. The main tasks are ▲mitigating the shock of the population cliff ▲responding to a shrinking society ▲addressing regional extinction ▲enhancing social sustainability.

Vice Minister Kim stated, "Since population issues have widespread and serious impacts on our economy and society, we will make the Population TF a 'collaborative platform' encompassing economic and social ministries to discuss and respond to population issues." He added, "To this end, we will significantly expand the role of social ministries, including appointing the Deputy Minister of Education as the co-secretary of the Population TF."

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