Park Hong-geun "If You Have a Second Child, Why Can't a 25-Pyeong Public Rental Be Guaranteed?"

Democratic Party Low Birthrate and Population Crisis Committee Forum
"Policies So Far Focused on Having Children,
Is This the Time to Talk Populism?"

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 2nd, "If the low birthrate policy so far has focused on having children, now a drastic comprehensive measure is needed to strengthen the state's responsibility for childbirth, education, and even admission."

On the same day, at the 1st discussion meeting of the Democratic Party's Ultra-Low Birthrate and Population Crisis Countermeasures Committee held at the National Assembly in the afternoon, Park said, "Citizens who saw last year's total fertility rate (0.78) article probably spent last week with a feeling that the vague sense of crisis has become a reality."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park emphasized, "Even though 330 trillion won was poured in over 15 years until 2020, the total fertility rate has plummeted," adding, "This is not a matter of political factions or ideology, but a matter of life or death."

He referred to an article about Jeonbuk Gimje, a region with population decline, where the population increased due to all-out policies, and lamented, "Even small basic local governments are so devoted to preparing countermeasures, so the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the Yoon Seok-yeol government, and the Democratic Party cannot help but reflect on what they have done."

Furthermore, Park stressed the need for all-out low birthrate policies, questioning, "Why can't the state guarantee public rental housing of 25-pyeong size for the second child and 33-pyeong size for the third child when a child is born?" Regarding education expenses, he pointed out, "Many countries now take responsibility up to university education. How long must Korea keep fighting over tuition fee increases?" He also retorted, "Is this the time to call it populism?"

Park said, "If we do not shift to bold and innovative thinking, this problem will not be solved," and emphasized, "Now is the time for politics to act. I hope that this time, groundbreaking and bold measures will be proposed and realized to create a turning point that can overcome the national crisis."

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