'Minister's Absence' National Assembly Population Special Committee... "Must Enforce by Adopting Witnesses"

Majority Absent Despite Meeting Called 2 Weeks in Advance
Proposals Include Income Tax Reduction and Introduction of Earmarked Taxes
Calls for Detailed Measures Regarding Establishment of Immigration Cheong

At the National Assembly's Special Committee on the Population Crisis, opinions emerged that attendance of ministers from various ministries should be made mandatory as witnesses in standing committee meetings due to frequent absences causing repeated postponements. The Population Special Committee decided to split into subcommittees for operation and for independent policy development, as the bills discussed in the special committee may overlap with those in individual standing committees.

The third meeting of the Population Special Committee held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 26th proceeded with reports from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, followed by questions from committee members. Although ministers were expected to attend, only Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop was present. The other ministers submitted reasons for their absence, and vice ministers attended in their place. The Economy and Finance Minister and the Culture Minister accompanied the president on a U.S. visit, the Land Minister attended a meeting on the establishment of a national industrial complex for system semiconductors in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and the Justice Minister met with the British Ambassador to Korea, thus not attending the meeting.

Choi Jong-yoon, the opposition party secretary of the Population Special Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, said, "Even the Defense Minister had other schedules and only gave a report, which is almost equivalent to absence," adding, "Although the meeting was convened two weeks in advance, except for the ministers who inevitably accompanied the president on his trip, the other ministers should have already reflected this schedule but apparently did not."

On the 26th, the Special Committee on Population Crisis held a plenary meeting at the National Assembly, chaired by Chairman Kim Young-sun. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Choi criticized, "The president emphasized the population crisis and demanded groundbreaking measures, but it seems either the president and government lack awareness of the population crisis or they are ignoring the National Assembly, or the National Assembly is trying to unilaterally implement population crisis policies."

He then argued that attendance as witnesses should be enforced under Article 2 of the Act on Testimony, Inspection, and Records at the National Assembly (National Assembly Testimony Act). Choi said, "I hope it does not come to this extent," and requested, "Chairman, please strongly urge the relevant ministries so that the ministers attend and responsibly answer the proposals and questions from the Population Special Committee members and provide accountable policy directions."

Yoon Joon-byung, a Democratic Party member, also said, "The government verbally states that the population crisis issue is a top priority, but the reality clearly shows otherwise," adding, "The Population Special Committee meeting schedule was postponed twice due to coordinating ministers' schedules, yet four ministers from different ministries were absent."

Yoon said, "The ruling party should guarantee that such dysfunctional committee operations do not occur," and added, "If not, in the worst case, witnesses should be summoned."

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is reporting on duties at the plenary meeting of the Special Committee on Population Crisis held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Insufficient reporting materials were also criticized. Jeon Hye-sook, a Democratic Party member, pointed out, "Looking at the materials reported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, immigration policy formulation is not even handled by the ministry, nor is the medium-term teacher supply plan, yet the ministry claimed to be in charge," adding, "Simply attaching the contents announced by the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee as is to the report is very inconsiderate."

Yang Ki-dae, a Democratic Party member, said, "If necessary, I think the president should come to the National Assembly and hold a meeting as the chairman of the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee," adding, "If the government and National Assembly do not set a strong determination from the start, it will just slip away again."

Kim Young-sun, a member of the People Power Party and committee chair, responded, "We will conduct questioning today and call the vice chairman of the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee and the absent ministers once more next time."

Bang Gi-seon, 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Ino-gong, Vice Minister of Justice, are talking at the plenary meeting of the Special Committee on Population Crisis held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Lee Dal-gon, a ruling party secretary and member of the People Power Party, suggested, "How about dividing the committee into two subcommittees?" He proposed, "One subcommittee would focus on overall operation, how to run the committee, what conclusions to reach, and what work to do, and the other would discuss policy and institutional development, urging, and social linkage activities to amend laws."

During the meeting, there were also calls for groundbreaking measures such as income tax reductions. Yang Ki-dae, a Democratic Party member, introduced, "Italy, a country with low fertility just above us, is recently considering an income tax exemption for families with two or more children," adding, "Hungary has a precedent of exempting income tax for families with four or more children." He continued, "The Ministry of Economy and Finance should prepare more radical measures." Yoo Kyung-jun, a People Power Party member, explained, "There is a tax reduction method where the number of family members is used as the tax base, dividing the tax amount by n, then multiplying by the number of members raised to the power of n," adding, "Because the tax structure is progressive, this method has a tax reduction effect as family size increases." However, Bang Ki-seon, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, responded, "This increases tax benefits for high-income groups," and said, "Social discussion and consensus are necessary."

There was also an opinion to levy earmarked taxes. Lee Jong-sung, a People Power Party member, said, "Isn't a separate funding source necessary for perfecting welfare services for low-income groups?" adding, "If the Ministry of Economy and Finance acknowledges the necessity, I think they can carefully consider the subjects for imposing such funds." According to the OECD's Social Expenditure Update 2023, South Korea's public social welfare expenditure is 12.3% of GDP, about 60% of the OECD average. Korea (12.3%) is at the same level as Costa Rica, with only Chile (11.7%) and Mexico (7.4%) having lower shares than Korea.

Bang Gi-seon, the 1st Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, is reporting on work at the plenary meeting of the Special Committee on Population Crisis held at the National Assembly on the 26th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

There was also a suggestion that new low fertility measures are needed for the 2030 generation. Hwang Bo-seung-hee, a People Power Party member, said, "The generation called MZ generation experiences a sharp decline in marriage rates from the time they reach marriageable age," adding, "Non-marriage and divorce are natural, and there is a low sense of obligation toward marriage. Gender conflicts are severe; how can birth rates be increased through any incentives?" He continued, "The basic low fertility plan needs to be revised." Kang Deuk-gu, a Democratic Party member, added, "We need to consider policies while broadly understanding the MZ generation," and "We need to focus on the issues that the generation is concerned about."

Questions also continued regarding the establishment of the Immigration Agency, which is being promoted as a single low birth measure. Choi Jong-yoon, a Democratic Party member, pointed out, "The process of multicultural inflow into Korea during the establishment of the Immigration Agency started from rural bachelors getting married, leading to a shortage of 3D labor, and now it is being discussed as a means to respond to the population crisis, but there are many elements that could provoke social conflict," adding, "The establishment of the Immigration Agency should be discussed not as a response to labor shortages but as a way to acquire new population nationality."

Calls were also made to prepare sociocultural measures through campaigns. Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party member, emphasized the need for the enactment of the Anti-Discrimination Act and the difficulties of the maternal surname system. Kim Young-sun, chair of the Population Special Committee, said, "There is almost no mention of low fertility measures in the Culture Ministry's report," adding, "Countries that have overcome low fertility have done so by overcoming psychological factors and values related to low fertility, so please research foreign cases and create a new report." Kim requested the vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, saying, "There were no campaigns at all for low fertility, childcare, or parenting," and asked, "Please review budget allocation plans for campaigns by each ministry this year, at least for work-life balance and support measures to overcome low fertility and support childbirth and childcare."

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