S. Korea to raise benefits for working parents to boost births
SEOUL: South Korea plans to sharply raise the ceiling on compensation for parental leave in the latest effort to encourage more births as the nation struggles with the world’s lowest fertility rate.

The maximum monthly compensation will be raised to 2.5 million won (US$1,809) from 1.5 million won if a parent temporarily leaves a workplace to take care of a child, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday (June 19) in a statement. The plan is among measures including easier housing loans, more babysitters and cheaper early education that are being put in place to stem a decline in the fertility rate, which hit a record low of 0.72 last year.

President Yoon Suk-yeol convened a meeting Wednesday to discuss the issue, which threatens to speed up the nation’s ageing process, undermining productivity and fiscal health. He said South Korea faces a "national emergency” due to its shrinking population, according to his office.

A variety of factors are blamed for the reluctance among young people to have babies, including high costs of housing and the competitive landscape for education. Increasing gender tensions are another factor regularly highlighted. Korea has spent tens of billions of dollars on efforts to boost the birthrate with little success so far.

The government now seeks to narrow its spending on measures that have proved more effective than others and pointed Wednesday to more housing as a priority in its policy steps.

The government will also crack down on business practices that make weddings less affordable and reform its visa systems to encourage more immigration to South Korea, it said. - Bloomberg
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SEOUL: South Korea plans to sharply raise the ceiling on compensation for parental leave in the latest effort to encourage more births as the nation struggles with the world’s lowest fertility rate.