President Yoon Suk Yeol called Tuesday for approaching the issue of the country's surprisingly declining birthrate from a fundamentally different perspective, emphasizing the need to identify its causes and find effective solutions.
Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting as South Korea's fertility rate, already the world's lowest, experienced another decline in the latest setback to the government's efforts to boost its declining population.
According to the statistics agency, the fertility rate reached a record quarterly low of 0.7 in the third quarter of 2023. The rate is significantly below the replacement level of 2.1, which is necessary to maintain the population stability at 51 million.
"The issue of low birthrates requires us to take the situation more seriously and contemplate on the causes and solutions from a different dimension than before," Yoon said.
Yoon pointed out that experts attribute the declining birthrate to intense competition, particularly in areas such as education, and stressed that efforts should be concentrated on addressing and rectifying such problems.
"Time is running short. I hope that every government agency approaches the issue of low birthrates with extraordinary determination," Yoon said.
Additionally, Yoon reiterated his commitment to completing three crucial reforms in the national pension, labor and education sectors, emphasizing their significance in elevating the country's growth potential.
Yoon also called on each government agency to promptly execute next year's government budget, passed by parliament last week, to support people's livelihoods.
"The confirmed budget aligns with the government's sound fiscal principles," Yoon said. (Yonhap)
