Party and Government "Easing Criteria for Newborn Special Loans... Announcing Measures to Address Low Birthrate"

People Power Party "Prepare Measures as Early as Possible"

The government, the Presidential Office, and the People Power Party have agreed to conduct a proactive review to further relax the income criteria for special loans for newborns. They also announced plans to soon introduce low birthrate measures that include practical solutions to assist with childcare.

The high-level party-government-civil meeting held on the 16th at the Prime Minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul [Image source=Yonhap News]

Jang Dong-hyeok, the senior spokesperson for the People Power Party's floor leadership, stated that the ruling party and government reached this consensus during a high-level meeting held on the 16th at the Prime Minister's official residence in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.

The ruling party and government agreed to establish practical measures to make it easier to apply for maternity leave and parental leave. For small and medium-sized enterprises, they plan to actively consider expanding support for hiring replacement personnel.

They also decided to prepare and announce low birthrate countermeasures that include practical solutions to assist with childcare, such as support for flexible work incentives, extension of paternity leave periods, and development of various flexible work models.

The ruling party and government formed a consensus that the low birthrate issue is a national emergency and that resolving it is the top priority of state affairs. They also shared the recognition that active support measures are necessary.

Furthermore, they judged that the low birthrate problem is linked to structural issues in our society and plan to continuously devise response measures to related problems.

In a briefing, Senior Spokesperson Jang said, "We spent quite a lot of time discussing the low birthrate issue," adding, "The government side also said they would prepare countermeasures as soon as possible based on the discussions."

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