Ultra-low Fertility and Policy Response in South Korea: Lessons from the Case of Japan

Abstract

South Korea’s fertility rate declined rapidly beginning in the late 1970s. By 2005, it had fallen to an all-time low of 1.08 per woman. This shift has contributed to a significant and continuing increase in the ratio of elderly to working-age population. In 2006 and 2010, the Korean government instituted policy plans intended to support child-rearing in the context of a modern industrialized society. However, increases in fertility rates during the years that followed were slight and inconsistent. In 2016, the government presented its Third Initiative for Low Fertility and Aging Society, but this program has been criticized, especially for focusing, like the earlier plans, too narrowly on financial subsidies rather than addressing culture and infrastructure as well. The present study examines these policy responses and compares them to the case of Japan, where a substantial reversal in the recent low fertility trend appears to have followed targeted, broad-based policies from both the central and regional governments, as well as voluntary programs by employers. The study recommends that Korea, like Japan, should not only engage multiple stakeholders but should broaden the scope of policy responses to account for the research-supported interrelationship among factors associated with education, culture, and economics.