Yoon: "It's Time to Rethink Low Birthrate Measures... If Excessive Competition Is the Problem, It Must Be Fixed"

At This Year's Final Cabinet Meeting, Urgent Measures Ordered
Must Find What Is Needed and Provide Solid Support
Accelerate Key Tasks Including 3 Major Reforms and Medical Reform
Emphasize Livelihood in Budget Execution and Administration

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized on the 26th, during the last Cabinet meeting of the year, regarding the resolution of the low birthrate issue, "If the excessive competition system in all fields, including education, is the direct cause of the low birthrate, then we must focus on fixing it." As projections emerged that population problems caused by the low birthrate could surpass the 'Black Death' of Europe despite various government policies, he called for groundbreaking alternatives.

In his opening remarks at the 55th Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong that morning, President Yoon stated, "We must recognize the low birthrate issue more seriously and think about its causes and countermeasures on a different level than before." The reason President Yoon brought up the low birthrate issue at the year-end Cabinet meeting, which reviews this year and outlines next year's policy direction, is because the population decline problem has become apparent due to the total fertility rate being among the lowest in OECD member countries (0.78 last year).

Statistics Korea forecasts that by around 2072, about 50 years from now, the population will decrease from 51.44 million at the end of last year to 36.22 million. The New York Times, in a column on the 2nd, also expressed concerns that Korea's population could decline faster than 14th-century medieval Europe, which experienced a sharp population drop due to the Black Death.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also ordered policies specialized in increasing the birthrate. President Yoon said, "Everyone knows well from over 20 years of experience that simply gathering good policies does not immediately become a solution to the low birthrate." He instructed, "For incentives related to childbirth to become effective low birthrate measures, it is necessary not only to provide universal support but also to identify and firmly support what is truly needed through empirical analysis." President Yoon repeatedly urged Cabinet members, saying, "There is not much time," and "I hope all ministries will approach the low birthrate issue with extraordinary determination together."

President Yoon also mentioned this year's achievements such as creating a fair market by breaking up government monopolies and cartels, eliminating employment inheritance, strengthening security through the restoration of Korea-US-Japan relations, pushing forward three major reforms in education, labor, and pensions, and promoting medical reform. He said, "Since these are urgent and important tasks to protect the lives and safety of the people, we will prepare measures with a sense of speed through focused discussions." This indicates a commitment to thoroughly organize factors that may indirectly affect the birthrate in addition to direct measures.

President Yoon announced that to sustain the economic recovery mood that began in the second half of this year into next year, the government will actively foster the service industry. According to the government, the current account balance turned positive from June, and a current account surplus of about 30 billion USD is expected this year. Also, as of November, the employment rate (ages 15-64) reached the highest level since statistics began, and the unemployment rate recorded a historic low of 2.3%. President Yoon said, "Exports are expected to lead economic recovery and growth next year," and added, "The government will focus on supporting the service industry so that the export-led recovery can translate into domestic demand recovery directly connected to people’s livelihoods. We will expand policy support centered on content preferred by future generations, high value-added industries such as finance and biohealth, and tourism and food industries to revitalize local economies."

President Yoon particularly emphasized 'people’s livelihoods' in next year’s budget execution and administrative areas. Earlier, the National Assembly approved the 2024 budget bill amounting to 656.6 trillion won at the plenary session on the 21st. President Yoon said, "The confirmed budget has maintained the government's sound fiscal policy framework," and instructed, "Each ministry should prepare meticulously for stabilizing people’s livelihoods and execute the budget promptly." In addition, he mentioned policies discovered on the ground by the government, such as expanding foreign workforce employment, pilot projects for non-face-to-face medical treatment, and 2 trillion won worth of financial support for people’s livelihoods, urging continuous field-centered administration to ensure vulnerable groups are not left behind.

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