281 trillion won. This is the money the government has spent for 16 years from 2006 to last year to solve the problem of low fertility. Although the budget is increasing every year, Korea’s total fertility rate was 0.81 last year, breaking the world’s lowest record every year and every quarter. what’s the problem Could the government’s numerous countermeasures have been meaningless to the younger generation who are struggling with pregnancy and childrearing?
The Korea Economic Daily held a discussion meeting at the headquarters of the Korea Economic Daily in Jungnim-dong, Seoul on the 3rd with five ordinary people in their 20s and 30s, who are most closely related to childbirth, in order to look back at the cause of the low fertility at the present time and to seek accurate countermeasures. Each of the five participants presented their opinions from various social backgrounds, such as freelancers, small business employees, dinks (a dual-income couple without children), and experienced childbirth. Although the causes and countermeasures for the low birth rate were various, their perception of the current situation in Korea resulted in one. “You cannot balance work and parenting.”
▷ Society = Why did the two Dinks give up having children?
▶Bae Yoo-jin=”I agreed in advance not to have children with my prospective husband, who will get married in two months. I went to various jobs after changing jobs, but seeing so many seniors and friends whose careers were cut off due to childbirth and childcare, I felt my heart In SMEs, when women take parental leave, they often fall into low-wage workers without being able to return to their original jobs. I studied, graduated from college, and succeeded in getting a job, but I can’t let all my studies and efforts go to waste just because I had a child.”
▶Jin-Woo Jeong = Not only small and medium-sized businesses, but also large corporations. I decided to live as a dinky at the request of my wife, but my wife works for a large company with a guaranteed parental leave system. However, no matter how well the system is formally established, the system What do you do when you freely take parental leave? As soon as you return from a one-year leave, your wife will unconditionally lag behind in promotion compared to her male colleagues who do not take parental leave, and she will only work in the outskirts of the department. It is said that such a structural disadvantage is absolutely unacceptable. I completely agree.”
▷ Society = Can freelancer Kim Byul take parental leave?
▶Kim Byul=”There is no parental leave system that freelancers can use. They are not just subject to the system. Office workers receive parental leave benefits if they use parental leave? Since I am a freelance yoga instructor, my career is cut off the moment I get pregnant and my livelihood is completely cut off until the end of childcare. There is a lot of talk that if this is guaranteed, we will be able to have children.”
▷ Society = Those of you who have had children first, do you have any plans to have a second child?
▶Minjeong Han (pseudonym)=”I originally had the idea of having two children. However, after having the first child last year, I came to the conclusion that I would never be able to have a second child while working and raising children at the same time. I think the decline in competency is something I have to endure. But the real problem is after returning to work from parental leave. Who takes care of the child? Does the child take care of the child all day? My husband and I both work overtime due to the nature of their work and work on holidays. Because there are so many, I can’t pick up my children at the regular daycare closing time every day.”
▷ Society = Then, who is taking care of you first?
▶Min-Jeong Han: “My parents are taking care of me. Even though my parents were financially strong, both of them quit their jobs to take care of my child.”
▶Hyeonil Kang (pseudonym)=”I absolutely agree that parental help is essential for child rearing. My wife and I even built a house next to our parents’ house to get help from our parents. Yet, our first child has just passed 100 days. It’s not easy to raise a child because it’s so lovely that you can’t take your eyes off the child and it’s mentally difficult.”
▷ Society = Have you ever thought about the case when your parents are not there?
▶Hyeonil Kang = My husband and I were going to have a second child, but if we couldn’t get help from our parents, we would never have thought of a second. But the second is physically impossible, no matter how much you sacrifice. It’s not something that a wife can do alone.”
▷ Society = Why not hire a babysitter?
▶Bae Yoo-jin=”It costs a lot of money to hire a sitter. It costs 1.5 million won a month to hire a sitter for 4-5 hours a day. This is the official amount only. It’s mandatory.”
▶Jinwoo Jeong = The cost of a sitter varies greatly depending on nationality. A Korean-Chinese or Central Asian babysitter costs around 2 million won a month, but if you want to hire a Korean, you need to spend at least 4 million won a month. Additional expenses such as allowance are separate The high cost means that the manpower is not adequately supplied compared to the demand. The cost of re-education will not be high, and it will be possible to create jobs for the elderly. Japan is nurturing the silver industry in this way.”
▷ If there are any institutional changes, would you make the decision to have children?
▶Min-Jeong Han = If men’s parental leave becomes compulsory, I think I will have a second child. My husband works in the public sector, but if he takes paternity leave, he is unconditionally pushed out of promotion. However, if a couple can take parental leave alternately for a year, women will be able to use parental leave with a much more comfortable mind and I think it will be easier to balance work and childcare.”
▶Bae Yoo-jin=”That’s right. After all, in a capitalist society, everyone in the company competes. However, the current structure, in which men do not take maternity leave and force childcare only on women, is not a fair competition arena for women. Why do we all study hard together? Should only women take maternity leave after getting a job and be left out of promotions. To change the mindset that children must be raised by mothers, it is necessary to make parental leave mandatory.”
▷ Society = Since parental leave pay is only 80% of the normal wage within the limit of 1.5 million won per month, if it becomes compulsory, individual income will decrease.
▶Jinwoo Jeong = What is lacking is, of course, systemic improvement, and I think that if the government really has the will to solve the problem of low fertility, it should be mandatory for men to take parental leave. I work at a large company and I have seen too many cases where male seniors who took parental leave are publicly disadvantaged in personnel management. It is a structure that cannot be used. But if it becomes mandatory, individuals will have to fight against the company to have and raise children. Even if it is radical, I think that it is mandatory to solve the problem of the low fertility problem. I believe that the government, which has spent tens of trillions of dollars every year, has never once seriously addressed the problem of the low fertility because there are so many problems with the parental leave system, which is the most necessary in the process of raising children. I don’t think I ever tried to solve it.”
▶Hyeonil Kang = In most companies, men often hear ‘Did you have children?’ even if they take maternity leave instead of parental leave, but they can’t even dream of taking parental leave. I think it would be a good way to give an unconventional incentive.”
▷Society = What do you think about the new parental benefits created by the Yun Seok-yeol government? From next year, regardless of income, parents of a 0-year-old child will receive 700,000 won, and the parents of a 1-year-old will receive 350,000 won from next year. In 2024, the payments to 0-year-old and 1-year-old parents will increase to 1 million won and 500,000 won, respectively.
▶Kim Byul=”I thought that the monthly amount of 1 million won is not as small as I thought, regardless of income. I think if this amount continues to increase, my mind will be inclined to have a child.”
▶Bae Yoo-jin: “I didn’t really feel that way. The reason I can’t have children is not because of money. I think the environment in which I can take care of children is much more important than money.”
▶Min-Jeong Han: “I think it’s a desirable system, but I don’t think it’s enough to influence the decision to give birth.”
▷ Society = Is the size of money a problem? What if it was $400,000 per month?
▶Hyeonil Kang = Since 4 million won a month is enough to hire a babysitter, I think it can be called a care system rather than just a cash grant. I think there is.”
▷ Society = Is there any other reason why it is difficult to have children besides the care problem?
▶Hyeonil Kang = About 40% of my peers, even though they want to have children, are unable to conceive. I think the government’s support for these infertile households should be expanded. The government is only subsidizing the procedure, but in fact, there are many cases that require psychological treatment.”
▶Bae Yoo-jin=”The high price of a house was also one of the main reasons I gave up giving birth. It cost 500 million won to rent a newlywed house in Seoul in a one-room urban living house. I have to spend half of my income to pay off the loan. That’s a lot of money for a beginner. To raise a child, you’d need at least two rooms, but for us, even though we’re both working, it’s hard to even rent a house right now.”
▶Kim Byul=”I live in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, and I am also newlywed in a house with one room and one living room. But to move to a house with one more room, I need at least 100 million won more. It’s not that I’ve given up on having a baby at all, but realistically, I think I’ll have to save money to move my house first before I can think about getting pregnant.”
Moderator and writing = Reporter Jeong Eui-jin justjin@hankyung.com