Four out of 10 South Koreans have no intention of getting married or have not put thought into it, according to a report released by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy on Thursday.
The committee unveiled the findings of a survey on perceptions regarding marriage, childbirth and child care, which targeted 2,011 men and women aged 25 to 49 nationwide.
According to the report, 39.1 percent of the respondents aged between 25 and 49 answered that they do not want to get married or have not put much thought into marriage.
On the other hand, some 61 percent of respondents answered that they are willing to or are planning to get married.
By gender, more women answered that they do not want to get married, with 33.7 percent of female respondents and 13.5 percent of male respondents indicating this preference.
Those who did not want to marry cited concerns of gender role burdens, with 88.9 percent of men pointing to financial burdens such as wedding expenses and housing and 92.6 percent of women pointing to housework and childbirth.
Both male and female respondents indicated they would be more inclined to marry and have children if economic conditions improved, such as reduced housing costs, better job opportunities and a guaranteed work-life balance.
Additionally, 61.1 percent of respondents answered that a married couple "must have children." However, when broken down by gender, women were less likely than men to consider having children as necessary, with 69.7 percent of men and 51.9 percent of women sharing the belief.
It was also found that only 34.4 percent of women aged between 25 and 29 believed that it was necessary to have children.
The committee’s report also revealed that 90 percent of the respondents acknowledged the serious problem of Korea’s declining birth rate.
However, an equal proportion felt that government policies to address the issue have not been effective so far. Forty-eight percent of respondents described themselves as "rather disappointed" with the current government's approach to resolving low birth rates.
Up to 81.9 percent of respondents indicated that they believe allowing workers to use parental leave freely would be an effective way to address declining birth rates. Additionally, 83.9 percent of female respondents suggested that fostering a culture of equal participation in childcare would be an effective solution.
The survey was conducted from March 29 to April 3, with a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
