South Korea Sees a Slight Increase in Birthrate After Years of Decline

For the first time in nine years, South Korea’s birthrate has slightly increased in 2024. More couples are getting married after pandemic-related delays, and government policies seem to be making an impact.

Nam Hyun-jin, 35, welcomed her second child in August. She believes society is now more supportive of childbirth than it was five years ago. “The society as a whole is encouraging childbirth more than five years ago when we had our first child,” Nam said.

Companies Play a Key Role

Corporate culture is also shifting. Nam credits her employer, Booyoung, for supporting working parents. The company began offering a 100-million-won ($70,000) childbirth bonus last year.

A Nation Facing a Population Crisis

For years, South Korea had the world’s lowest birthrate. Many women prioritized career growth over marriage due to rising housing and childcare costs. This trend threatened economic growth and social stability. Experts warned that the population of 51 million could shrink by half by 2100.

A Small but Significant Increase

In 2024, the fertility rate rose to 0.75 from 0.72 in 2023. Though still the lowest globally, it marked an improvement after eight years of decline. Experts link this rise to postponed pandemic-era weddings and effective government policies.

More Parents Having a Second Child

Data shows second-child births increased by 12% in 2024. First-child births rose by 11% in the same period. This trend suggests the rise is not just temporary. “There is a high possibility of further rises (in fertility rate) in coming years, and we are right at the inflection point,” said You Hye-mi, the presidential secretary for population policy.

Government Takes Bold Steps

Last year, the now-impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol proposed a ministry to address the national demographic crisis. The government boosted spending by 22%, allocating 19.7 trillion won ($13.76 billion) in 2025 for childcare, housing, and work-life balance policies.

Policy Reforms Offer Strong Incentives

The government introduced several family-friendly policies. Employees now receive 100% of their salary for six months if both parents take parental leave, an increase from three months. The maximum leave period for both parents expanded to 1.5 years. Paternity leave doubled to 20 days. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now receive government subsidies to cover wages during parental leave.

Businesses Encouraged to Support Families

Since 2024, listed companies must disclose childcare-related statistics. They receive incentives for government projects and financial aid for family-friendly policies.

Marriages on the Rise

The number of marriages surged in 2024, continuing an upward trend from 2023, the first increase in 12 years. Public sentiment is also shifting. In a recent survey, 52.5% of South Koreans viewed marriage positively, the highest rate since 2014.

Companies Realize Economic Benefits

Booyoung saw a baby boom among employees after launching its childbirth bonus program. “After all, it is for companies to survive. We build apartments, and they will be sold only if there are enough people to live in,” said Booyoung’s HR director, Kim Jin-seong. Other companies, including game developer Krafton, followed suit with similar incentives.

Challenges Still Remain

Despite progress, concerns remain. Acting President Choi Sang-mok urged continued policy improvements to cover freelancers and self-employed workers. “We need to make sure to keep the spark alive, which was hard to make, by quickly filling in the blind spots of low-birth policies, such as free-lancers and the self-employed,” he said.

Young Koreans Still Hesitant

However, many young people remain skeptical. “I think it is not that welcomed because it is difficult and costs a lot of money to get married, have a baby, and family in the Korean society,” said Kim Ha-ram, a 21-year-old student.

South Korea aims to increase its fertility rate to 1.0 by 2030, still far below the 2.1 needed for a stable population. Temporary workers, who make up 27.3% of the workforce, face job insecurity, which discourages family planning.

Experts Call for More Corporate Involvement

Sociology professor Shin Kyung-ah emphasized that companies must play a larger role. “The gap is huge between big and small companies in South Korea, and between those employed permanently and temporarily, so the government needs to be more creative to have the system established for all,” she said.

Jung Jae-hoon, a professor at Seoul Women’s University, agreed. “Childcare systems are well established now at a society level through government investments, but we still need companies to change to become more family-friendly, which makes it a job half done.”