South Korean president declares demographic national emer8k8 17gency

SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday declared a "demographic national emergency" amid growing concerns about the Asian country's record-low birth rate.

Yoon issued the declaration at a meeting of the presidential committee on low birth and aging population, vowing to run a pan-government response system until the low birth issue is overcome, according to the presidential office.

The country's total fertility rate, or an average number of children a woman is expected to bear in lifetime, reached a record low of 0.72 in 2023, far below the replacement level of 2.1 required to maintain the current population.

The ministry of demographic strategy and planning will be set up as a "control tower", which will be led by deputy prime minister for social affairs to draw up policies on low birth, aged society and immigration in the long run.

Yoon said his government will focus on three pillars: balancing work and life, providing public childcare service, and offering preference to purchase houses.

For the work-life balance, the government will expand paternity leave and relevant allowances with an aim of raising the rate of paternity leave from the current 6.8 percent to 50 percent.

Public childcare service will be provided for children aged 3-5 free of charge, while expanding after-school programs at elementary schools.

Households with newborn babies will be given priority to buy houses, while offering low-interest loans to newlyweds.