The Reason Behind Declining Birth Rates – Is Excessive Competition to Blame?
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On the 26th President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized, “As many experts point out if the excessive competition system in all areas including education is a direct cause of the low birth rate, we should focus on correcting this.”
Presiding over the Cabinet meeting at the Government Sejong Complex that day, President Yoon said, “The low birth rate problem requires us to recognize the situation more seriously and think about the causes and solutions in a different dimension than before.”
President Yoon said, “Everyone knows through more than 20 years of experience that just collecting good policies does not make a low birth rate countermeasure,” and “For the low birth rate countermeasure to be a definite incentive for childbirth, not only universal support but also empirical analysis to find what is necessary and support it surely is needed.”
President Yoon also asked all ministries to tackle the low birth rate problem with an extraordinary resolve.
In addition, President Yoon emphasized the three major reforms of pensions, labor, and education as “tasks that must be pursued without hesitation to increase the growth potential of our country.”
In particular, President Yoon stated, “I promised the people during the last presidential election and through the national agenda that I would lay the foundation for pension reform. To keep that promise, I have diligently prepared up to the point where it can be decided through national consensus and the choice of the National Assembly.”
He continued, “A broad direction, including the expansion of medical personnel, rationalization of the medical accident handling system, and establishment of a fair compensation system, has been outlined. As this is an urgent and crucial task to safeguard the lives and safety of the people, I will swiftly formulate measures through focused discussions.”
Furthermore, President Yoon commented on the budget for the upcoming year that passed through the National Assembly on the 21st, saying, “The confirmed budget has maintained the overall framework of the government’s sound fiscal policy. I request each ministry to meticulously prepare for the swift execution of the budget to ensure stability in people’s lives.
By. Sun Mi Hong
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