Thedailymiaminews:- According to data issued by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on December 24, 20% of South Koreans are now 65 years of age or older, formally placing the country in the “super-aged” category. With South Korea being one of the world’s fastest-aging countries, this development highlights the nation’s deteriorating demographic issue.
With 10.24 million of the country’s 51.22 million residents being elderly, South Korea is now considered “super-aged” by the UN. Seven percent of the population must be 65 years of age or older for a society to be considered “aging,” fourteen percent must be “aged,” and more than twenty percent must be “super-aged,” according to the UN.
Record lows are reached in fertility rates.
The dropping fertility rate, which dropped to a record low of 0.72 children per woman in 2023—much lower than the replacement rate of 2.1—exacerbates South Korea’s demographic problems. Since 2018, South Korea has had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with fewer than one kid per woman.
The population’s long-term viability is called into question by this demographic transition; analysts warn that by 2100, South Korea’s population may have decreased by half.
Response from the government: a “national emergency”
The administration has declared a “national emergency” in recognition of the catastrophe. To solve the problem, suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol demanded in May that a “Ministry of Low Birth Rate Counterplanning” be established.
Yoon declared, “To combat the low birth rate, which can be regarded as a national emergency, we will mobilize all of the nation’s capabilities.” “Corporate growth and job creation are important, but it’s even more critical to resolve what is inconvenient in the lives of each and every person,” he said, underscoring the need of tackling residents’ everyday struggles.
Despite this need, political strife has halted attempts to create a specialized “population-focused ministry.” This includes disagreements inside the National Assembly regarding the imposition of martial law and the impeachment trial that followed.
Marriage rates and social factors are declining
Numerous causes, such as stagnant earnings, growing living expenses, and long-standing gender inequality that disproportionately places the duty of childcare on women, are cited by experts as contributing to the dropping birth rate.
In South Korea, the number of marriages has decreased by 40% in the last ten years, from 322,807 in 2013 to just 193,673 in 2023.
Financial rewards don’t stop the trend.
In order to promote childbearing, the government has implemented a number of incentives, such as financial aid that ranges from 35 million won (£20,566) to 50 million won (£29,380) every kid until the child is seven. In one noteworthy instance, a couple who gave birth to quintuplets in September were awarded birthing payments of 170 million won (£95,757). Furthermore, the ministry of health and welfare has acknowledged couples with numerous children by presenting two ladies with civilian service medals in October for each giving birth to thirteen children.
A issue for which there are no simple answers
The measures have not been very successful in spite of these efforts. In order to address gender imbalance, enhance work-life balance, and guarantee financial stability for families, experts stress the necessity of more extensive societal changes. The demographic issue in South Korea may have serious long-term effects on the country’s economic and social structure if these reforms are not implemented.