Na Kyung-won: "We Should Not Focus Only on Increasing Birth Rates but Also Consider Immigration Issues"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] Na Kyung-won, Vice Chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society, pointed out existing low fertility and aging policies at the inter-ministerial vice ministerial meeting and stated that previously taboo issues such as immigration should also be considered.

At the 'Future Population Strategy Inter-Ministerial Vice Ministerial Meeting' chaired by Vice Chairperson Na on the 23rd, she emphasized, "There must be a thorough reflection on the policies regarding low fertility and aging society," adding, "The issue of low fertility and aging society is a matter of survival for the Republic of Korea."

This meeting was the first vice ministerial-level meeting since Vice Chairperson Na's appointment, organized to review not only the previously implemented policies to alleviate low fertility but also adaptation and planning policies for the upcoming demographic changes. Seven ex officio ministries?Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport?participated along with four additional ministries: Ministry of Justice and Ministry of National Defense.

Vice Chairperson Na presented three directions to overcome the low fertility and aging issues. First, she stated, "We need to review the currently implemented policies, remove regulations that overly restrict the scope of support, and eliminate blind spots."

She also expressed the position that "bold acceptance of policies is necessary." Vice Chairperson Na said, "If we have been solely focused on raising the birth rate, now we must actively consider various policies, including the previously taboo issue of immigration."

The need to prepare for future population changes was also emphasized. Vice Chairperson Na explained, "We need adaptation and planning in response to population changes," adding, "Through this, we must predict and prepare for industrial changes to turn crises into opportunities."

According to the committee, the meeting discussed ways to strengthen incentives from each ministry, such as parental leave, housing support, and tax benefits. Additionally, multi-dimensional reviews were conducted on cross-ministerial population change adaptation and planning strategies, including immigration policies and the decrease in military service resources mentioned by Vice Chairperson Na.

The committee stated that it plans to promptly institutionalize and promote the ministry-specific support policy enhancement measures prepared through this discussion and to continue discussions with each ministry to establish and implement the future population strategy.

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