Yoon Chairs First Low Birthrate Committee Meeting: "The State Must Take Responsibility for Both Childcare and Self-Realization"

President Chairs Low Birthrate Committee Meeting for First Time in 7 Years
Emphasizes Bold Measures and Focused Fiscal Investment
Even If Low Birthrate Issue Not Resolved,
Children Must Grow Up Bright and Healthy

For Effectiveness of Birth, Childcare, and Care Leave Systems,
Both Government and Private Sector Must Participate

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized on the 28th at the 1st Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee meeting, "The state must take clear responsibility and guarantee that the joy of having and raising children and the goal of self-realization can be simultaneously fulfilled, and under such a goal, bold measures must be prepared and necessary finances concentrated and invested." It is the first time in seven years that the president has directly chaired a low birthrate committee meeting.

In his opening remarks at the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee meeting held at the Blue House's Yeongbingwan in the afternoon, President Yoon stated, "The most important thing is that the state must be able to give the people the belief and trust that it will firmly take responsibility for our children."

He urged that, first of all, the state must provide trust that it will take responsibility for children and also establish a foundation for children to grow up healthily. Regarding this, President Yoon stressed, "Frankly speaking, even if the low birthrate problem is not solved, I consider it a fundamental duty of the state to ensure that children born on this land can grow up bright and healthy."

He also emphasized the need to identify the causes of failure in the previous administration's birth policies and to implement policies that help revive the birthrate. President Yoon pointed out, "Over the past 15 years, an astronomical budget of 280 trillion won was invested in comprehensive plans, but last year the total fertility rate recorded an all-time low of 0.78. We must coldly reevaluate low birthrate policies based on scientific evidence and properly identify the reasons for failure."

He added, "The low birthrate issue is intricately intertwined with social issues such as welfare, education, jobs, housing, taxation, and cultural factors including women's economic activities. Along with government support, cultural and value factors must also be considered. Therefore, it can be said that a diverse approach from various angles is necessary."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also urged that existing childbirth and childcare systems be checked to ensure they are properly applied in the field and their effectiveness enhanced, while private sector participation for overall social and cultural change should proceed simultaneously.

President Yoon said, "Many labor vulnerable groups such as workers in small and medium enterprises or non-regular workers find it difficult to properly use even the childbirth, childcare, care, and leave guaranteed by law," and mentioned, "It is difficult to solve the low birthrate problem with any policy alone when a culture conducive to childbirth and childcare has not been established."

The intention is to provide seamless support for having and raising children, including the establishment of care and education, flexible work and parental leave, housing stability, alleviation of childcare cost burdens, and expanded support for infertile couples.

He added, "While reviewing current systems to enhance effectiveness, private sector participation for cultural change throughout our society must also proceed simultaneously," and said, "It seems that we need to shift more toward the culture of our past villages or communities in that direction."

In particular, he said, "The low birthrate problem can never be solved by short-term or one-time measures," and "we must continuously communicate with the field through detailed public opinion surveys and Focus Group Interviews (FGI), and hold regular Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee meetings to create systems and policies that the public can feel through close cooperation between the ruling party and government."

At the meeting, after watching a video containing the voices of policy demanders such as 'working moms' and the committee's operational direction, Vice Chairman Kim Young-mi reported on the "Yoon Suk-yeol Government's Low Birthrate and Aging Society Tasks and Policy Directions." According to the presidential office, the four core strategies of the Yoon Suk-yeol government are ▲selection and concentration ▲elimination of blind spots and disparities ▲structural reform and awareness enhancement ▲strengthening the policy implementation foundation.

Accordingly, the government has set five core areas and major tasks as ▲dense and high-quality care and education ▲time with children for working parents ▲family-friendly housing services ▲reduction of childcare cost burdens ▲healthy children, happy parents, and plans to continue discussing related detailed measures.

Specifically, selected measures include expanding child care services and hourly care, implementing integrated childcare, nationwide expansion of Neulbom Schools, promoting the enactment of the Child Basic Act, creating practical conditions for the use of work-childcare concurrent support systems, and improving the working environment during childcare for direct parental care.

Also included are expanding housing supply and financial support for newlyweds, expanding housing supply tailored to household size, providing parental allowances, improving the amount and criteria for Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments, preparing family-friendly tax law amendments, prenatal health management, expanding infertility support, and zero out-of-pocket hospitalization costs for children under two years old.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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