S. Korean civic groups call for family-centered approach to low birth rate
· UPIMay 10 (Asia Today) -- More than 170 South Korean civic organizations called for a fundamental overhaul of the country's low birth rate policies, arguing that restoring family-centered values - rather than expanding cash subsidies - is key to reversing demographic decline.
The appeal came during a civic forum and joint declaration event held Wednesday at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul ahead of next year's local elections.
The event, titled "Citizen Forum and Joint Declaration on Family-Centered Low Birth Rate and Population Policies," brought together 172 organizations including the Federation for Korean Families. Participants urged future Seoul mayoral candidates to adopt policies centered on what organizers described as the restoration of "familism," or family-oriented social culture.
"Seoul is paradoxically the city where the largest number of young people are giving up on marriage and fearing childbirth," said Hwang In-ja, executive representative of the Federation for Korean Families.
"South Korea has spent 380 trillion won ($273 billion) responding to low birth rates and population aging, yet the results have been devastating," she said. "Policies treated people as fragmented individuals receiving temporary cash support rather than recognizing families as integrated communities of life."
Hwang argued that South Korea's existing approach has focused too heavily on short-term financial incentives instead of rebuilding broader social trust and family support systems.
Kim Gil-yeon, president of the Korea chapter of International People to People, said Seoul has become a city where the burdens of marriage, childbirth and child-rearing feel especially overwhelming.
"We cannot ignore the reality that raising children is increasingly viewed with fear," Kim said.
The forum focused on strengthening family-friendly population policies and featured presentations from academics and policy experts.
Lee Sam-sik, director of the Institute for Aging Society at Hanyang University, said uncertainty about the future is a major factor behind declining birth rates.
"The goal of policy should not be to pressure people into having children," Lee said. "It should be to create conditions where marriage, childbirth and parenting become natural choices."
Lee proposed expanding what he called "social trust infrastructure," including family-oriented housing programs in Seoul, 24-hour emergency childcare systems and integrated transportation support platforms for pregnant women and families with infants.
Jung Ji-yoon, a professor specializing in international multicultural studies at Myongji University, said policymakers must move beyond debates over the size of financial support packages.
"The real question is not how much money the government provides, but what kind of life people are able to build," she said.
Choi Eun-sil, an adjunct professor at Korea University, argued that South Korea's low birth rate crisis reflects deeper cultural and social problems beyond economics alone.
"Economic support may serve as a necessary condition for childbirth and child-rearing, but it is not a sufficient condition to fundamentally motivate younger generations," Choi said.
She pointed to rising individualism, gendered caregiving burdens and highly competitive education culture as underlying contributors to declining birth rates.
The event concluded with participants reading and signing a joint declaration proposing what organizers described as "seven core strategies" for a family-centered Seoul.
The proposals included policies aimed at integrating different generations and social groups, creating comprehensive caregiving systems from infancy through old age, improving work-family balance, expanding family-oriented housing support, strengthening healthcare systems that emphasize respect for life, reforming family-based tax support and establishing institutional governance frameworks for what organizers called a "family happiness city."
Organizers said the event was intended not as a campaign pledge initiative, but as an effort to rebuild family communities and develop a sustainable future for Seoul through broader social consensus.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260510010001967