[칼럼]  Korea Story 29 - Society and Welfare 5 by Atty Jeong-kee Kim

NewsKorea=Seoul) Digital News Team =  Korea Story 29 - <Society and Welfare 5  by Atty Jeong-kee Kim>

● If there are no proper measures against low birth rate and aging, Korea will disappear.

The issue of low birthrate and aging, which will determine the future and fate of Korea has emerged as a national emergency and one of the most urgent tasks to be addressed. If the low birthrate leads to a continued population decline, Korea will eventually disappear from the face of the earth, and the increase in the elderly population will turn the country into an aging nation on average.

Currently, Korea's total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) is 0.78, the lowest in the world. Korea is the only country in the OECD with a rate below 1, while the OECD average is 1.58. Furthermore, The New York Times reported that South Korea is expected to become the second-oldest country in the world.

Of course, the government is not ignoring such serious challenges. A long time ago, in 2005, the ‘Basic Act on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society’ was enacted, and 320 trillion won has been invested in relation to low birth rate since 2006. However, the situation continues to worsen. According to statistics from 2022, 34.5% of single-person households in Korea live alone in one out of three households. ‘I will not get married’ is 48.9% of single women in their 20s and 55.7% of single women in their 30s. Along with that, a whopping 60.9% of unmarried women in their 20s and 48.8% of unmarried women in their 30s say, ‘I will not have children.’ At least one out of two unmarried women will not get married, and even if they do get married, they will not have children. This is a really serious problem.

The central government and local governments provide various financial support to families with children. Recently, even a family with just two children is considered a multi-child family, receiving various benefits. However, the problem of low birth rate cannot be solved with the existing support and benefits. The paradigm for solving the low birthrate problem must be changed, and fundamental measures must be established.

The reasons unmarried women give for not wanting to marry or have children are primarily economic. Not only are the costs of marriage considerable, but issues such as job stability, securing housing, career interruptions after childbirth, and the burden of raising, caring for, and educating children are overwhelming. They also see no hope for improvements in balancing work and family life. Therefore, improving the overall livelihood issues is of utmost priority. Moreover, comprehensive and effective measures must be prepared, specifically targeting the life cycle of married women.

David Coleman, a professor emeritus of demography at the University of Oxford in the UK, warned that "if the current trend of low birth rate continues, South Korea will completely disappear by 2750." He pointed out that the most significant cause of low birth rate is the individualistic values of South Korea's unmarried women. This is a very meaningful diagnosis. Patriarchal family values, excessive work culture, a competition-driven educational environment, a low gender equality index, and the lack of a widespread cohabitation culture and openness to non-marital births are factors that negatively impact unmarried women's views on marriage, childbirth, and parenting.

For today's younger generation, marriage is not attractive for many of the reasons mentioned above. Therefore, there is no need to get married, and due to their prevailing individualism, they only invest in themselves. The individualistic tendencies of the younger generation are a global trend, but the country needs to make practical efforts to re-establish national views and values ​​for them.

The low birthrate and aging issue is a concern for most OECD countries, each of which has proposed solutions and taken measures, with varying results. Some countries have achieved noticeably good outcomes, while others have failed to make progress. The difference lies in whether the countries have created a family and social culture that promotes gender equality and whether they have built support systems and childcare infrastructure to support women’s participation in the workforce and their desires for self-fulfillment. High-fertility countries have invested relatively more resources into improving the childbirth and childcare environment compared to low-fertility countries.

Looking at examples from advanced countries, the United States experienced a temporary baby boom, but after the 19th-century industrialization, there was a continuous population decline, with the total fertility rate falling to 1.5. However, recent population growth has been driven by the high fertility rates of Latin American and Asian immigrants. Japan, which experienced a similar decline in fertility rates to that of Western societies, has seen a significant drop in birth rates due to economic recession and income-related factors. In contrast, the UK, which was the first to experience a decline in fertility rates, is well-prepared in terms of population policy, and its total fertility rate has risen since 2000 due to the high birth rates of Muslim and African immigrants. Sweden, a typical welfare state, saw its fertility rate increase after experiencing a population decline due to low birth rates, thanks to the reduction of welfare policies and the implementation of government initiatives to encourage childbirth.

The major advanced countries have implemented various measures to encourage childbirth, such as childbearing incentives, parental leave, tax reductions on childcare expenses, child allowances, and family allowances, to actively promote childbirth. In Japan, the "Angel Plan" was introduced in 1989 as a countermeasure against low birthrates, including the establishment of child allowances to prevent further declines in birthrates. Russia, recognizing population decline as a national crisis, has overcome low birthrates through incentive policies such as childbirth allowances, housing loans, and living expense subsidies. The UK, Germany, Austria, and others are reducing the decline in the economic population by extending retirement ages and easing immigration policies while simultaneously implementing active childbirth promotion policies. In France, where low birthrates became a serious issue in the 1980s, the country successfully raised its birth rate to the highest level in Europe by creating an environment where childcare and work can coexist.

The childbirth encouragement policies of advanced countries tend to be more focused on welfare policies that promote women's employment rather than purely as population policies. From this perspective, Korea needs to seek a fundamental solution to its low birthrate and aging society.

Above all, Korea must properly understand the causes of low birth rate. For childbirth to occur, there must first be 'marriage.' It is crucial to increase the marriage rate in society. Korea should also consider the cases of Western societies that recognize out-of-wedlock births and single mothers through legal and institutional frameworks.

Additionally, if the marriage rate is low, policies should focus on why people who want to marry are unable to do so. Childbirth is not an obligation or mission for women; it is a choice made by individuals (couples). Those who are economically stable around the appropriate age for marriage have likely already married and have children. The likelihood of marriage and children is much higher among those with high and stable incomes. A population increase solely to support social costs like pensions is not the right direction. The absolute number of people is not what matters; we must accurately analyze the cases of advanced countries. A densely populated society is not a panacea, and we need to find ways to address various social issues that arise from high population density. Ultimately, to raise the birthrate, we may need to build a social structure where women can achieve self-fulfillment while balancing marriage, childbirth, and childcare. We should also establish a system where families, society, and the state work together to support childbirth and childcare, and improve public awareness to create a gender-equal, family-friendly social atmosphere.

There is a need to look at the rapidly increasing elderly population due to low birth rates. A society in which people over 65 years of age account for more than 14% of the total population; an aging society if people over 65 years of age account for more than 7% of the total population; a society in which people over 65 years of age account for 14% of the total population. If it is above 20% of the total population, it is called an aged society, and if the proportion of the total population aged 65 or older is more than 20%, it is called a post-aged society or super-aged society.

The definition of the term old age is not universally consistent. Korea's “Enforcement Decree of the Act on Prohibition of Age Discrimination in Employment and the Elderly Employment Promotion Act” defines those aged 55 or older as senior citizens and those aged 50 to 54 as semi-elderly. 
However, the UN defines a society as aging when the proportion of the population aged 65 and older exceeds 7%. The factors causing population aging are the decline in birth rate and death rate. Countries with long life expectancies are developed countries, and longevity is a human wish in the sense that it symbolizes a peaceful and stable society. However, on the other hand, social and economic measures to respond to diseases, poverty, loneliness, and joblessness that come with old age are the immediate challenges of an aging society. 

The number of elderly people aged 65 or older in Korea is currently about 9.5 million, or 18.47% of the total population, and it is expected that the ratio of the elderly population to the total population will reach 20% in early 2025. If the elderly population exceeds 14%, it is an aged society, and if it exceeds 20%, it is a super-aged society. Our country will become a super-aging society in just one year. Moreover, Korea's average life expectancy is 83.6 years, which is one of the highest in the world.

As Korea enters an era of longevity, the elderly population is rapidly increasing and is expected to reach about 18 million by 2050. Due to the low birthrate, the younger generation is steadily shrinking while the elderly population grows, turning the country into an aging nation. What will happen if the younger generation, capable of working, dwindles while the non-productive elderly population increases? The burden on young people will rise, and the nation will inevitably face an economic crisis.

Every citizen has the right to live happily. The elderly mustnot be neglected just because they are a burden. Korea has already established the Presidential Committee on Low Birth and Aging in 2003 to make efforts to improve the welfare of the elderly, but it is still inadequate. The benefits provided to the elderly from the national budget are only 1.3 million won per year per elderly person. 9.1% of elderly people live alone. One in ten elderly people live alone. As times change, there are many elderly people who live alone without dependents because their family relationships have been disbanded or severed, and they are struggling with various diseases, poverty, and loneliness. Because of this, the number of lonely deaths among elderly people is increasing every year. Unable to endure all kinds of pain, they either make extreme choices or live alone, cut off from their surroundings, and die lonely. Since there are many unrelated people, there are many cases where they are discovered only after a long period of time has passed.

Of course, the central government and local governments are doing their best to improve elderly welfare. Care services provided by caregivers and welfare workers, as well as local volunteer organizations that regularly provide coal, kimchi, lunch boxes, and other necessities, are all efforts to support the elderly. However, elderly solitary deaths are not decreasing, and many elderly people still suffer from illness, poverty, and loneliness. A thorough and detailed survey is necessary to accurately grasp the actual conditions of the elderly. Additionally, there is a need to expand elderly welfare facilities and boldly raise the minimum cost of living. Elderly people need money to lead mentally and physically stable lives.

☆ Author:  Atty Jeong-kee Kim ☆

● Education
- Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Summa Cum Laude, State University of New York at Stony Brook
-  Doctor of Jurisprudence, Marquette University Law School
- Senior Executive Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Research Scholar in North Korean Studies, Peking University

● Experience
- Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai
- Commissioner General for the Korean Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo
- CEO, Asia-Pacific Local Government Network for Economic and Social Development (CityNet)
- Secretary General, World Smart Sustainable Cities Organization(WeGO)
- Law Clerk, Milwaukee Circuit Court, USA
- Senior Attorney-at-Law, Dr & Aju LLC
- Distinguished Visiting Professor, World Economy Research Institute, Nanjing University
- Research Professor, Institute of Oriental Studies, Peking University
- Distinguished Professor, Graduate School of Political Science, Kookmin University
- Chair Professor, Graduate School of Business, Dongguk University
- First President of Soongsil Cyber University

● Publications
- Georo English Studies Series for College Students [10 volumes] (Georo Publishing)
- I Challenge the Possibility of One Percent (Chosun Ilbo)
- The Art of Negotiation (Cheongnyonneongsin Publishing)
- Korea and the World (Chekmidum Publishing)