Various Solutions to Low Birthrate... Lee "Hope for the Future", Yoon & Ahn "Regional Balance", Shim "Inequality Resolution"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Ki-min Lee and Ju-hee Kang] On the 2nd, presidential candidates presented various visions during the social sector TV debate hosted by the Central Election Broadcasting Debate Commission on the topic of "Policies to Solve the Population Cliff," stating respectively that "We must create hope for the future," "Regional balanced development must be achieved," and "Inequality must be resolved."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, pointed out, "The reason people had many children in the past despite harsh realities was the belief that 'my children will live better than I do,'" adding, "The core problem is that hope has disappeared."

He continued, "I will restore growth and create the future by increasing opportunities through sustainable growth," emphasizing, "It costs too much to give birth and raise children, and preventing career breaks caused by not being able to work due to childcare is also important."

Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party presidential candidate, both stressed the importance of regional balanced development. Yoon said, "If the population structure becomes an 'inverted triangular fraction' shape due to low birthrate and aging, problems such as deterioration of finances and national defense capabilities and collapse of the university education system will arise," adding, "All systems including pregnancy and childbirth support, job expansion, housing stability, and childcare are necessary to increase the birthrate."

He added, "However, the structure of an excessively competitive society must be improved," emphasizing, "We need to alleviate the anxiety of youth and achieve regional development to maintain balance so that the aspirations of young people can diversify."

Ahn also criticized, "South Korea’s birthrate is the lowest among OECD countries. By 2048, our country will become the most super-aged society in the world. We poured 380 trillion won into solving this, but it had no effect," explaining, "Young people do not have good jobs to work properly, and the housing environment is very poor. Young people flock to the metropolitan area because of jobs, breaking regional balanced development." He continued, "The fundamental solution is to create good jobs, properly improve the housing environment, and implement regional balanced development policies."

Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate, said, "The cause of low birthrate is not women but inequality. The birthrate in Sejong City, which has many public officials, is 1.23, while Seoul’s is 0.63," adding, "We must solve housing, employment, and childcare inequality. Through a second land reform, we will reduce asset disparities, and with a new labor law, we will also address income disparities."

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