It was welcoming that the number of newborn babies has increased here. The increase, though meager, was particularly impressive as it came after the national fertility rate fell to a record low to 1.08 in the previous year. It was down from the previous lowest of 1.16 in 2004.

According to a statistics, the number of new babies last year was 411,606, up 7,218 from 404,388 in 2005.

The birthrate has been on a decline since 1995 except for the year 2000 when a small number of babies were raised presumably due to “millennium baby boom.” The increase is believed to have been achieved by people’s positive response to government and corporations campaigning for more births and giving fringe benefits to mothers. It is hoped that this hard-won momentum will continue in the years ahead.

Low fertility rate is a common problem of all advanced nations including Japan and the European nations. The most outstanding problem with low birthrates is that it increases the ratio of old people to young people that creates a shrinking labor force. The situation here is especially serious as the pace of progress is far faster than the case of other countries.

The low birthrate also means the reduction in the number of taxpayers in the long run.

The situation is set to bring about the collapse of various welfare funds on which a growing number of elderly rely. It is serious enough to threaten the existence of the nation itself. That’s why all advanced nations are making all-out efforts to keep their birthrate at an optimum level. They lavishly spend money to create a socio-economic environment conducive to making women give birth without hesitation.

A new social contract guaranteeing that those who have children are not severely disadvantaged in the workplace is needed. The government is asked to review a wide range of policy options to effectively counter our disastrous situation.

The cooperation of business is also important to increase the number of births in our country. Many business corporations here don’t provide parental leave for the birth of children of employees. People also need to know about the calamity that a low fertility rate can bring. (Source: The Korea Times)