On Aug 22., Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, proposed expanding the age limit for children eligible for parental leave and reduced working hours for parents with young children to include those under 12 years of age. Currently, these benefits are only available to parents of children under 8 or those in the second grade or younger. Han suggested revising the law to extend eligibility. The government had already proposed this change last year through amendments to three related acts—the Labor Standards Act, the Employment Insurance Act, and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act. The Democratic Party of Korea supports this initiative, but the legislation has been stalled in the relevant committee due to the party’s focus on the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, dubbed the yellow envelope law. Han emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation on bills to address the demographic cliff.
Despite ongoing political confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties, there is widespread agreement on the importance of addressing low birth rates and population challenges. Regardless of which party holds power, the nation’s decline is inevitable if the current low birth rate problem is left unresolved. However, contentious issues like impeachment, special investigations, and heated hearings are hindering discussions on even non-controversial low birth rate legislation.
The amendment to the Government Organization Act, aimed at establishing a planning ministry to address low birth rates and an aging society, is facing similar delays. Last month, the ruling party proposed creating a ministry responsible for developing population-related strategies, coordinating budgets for low birth rate initiatives, and serving as Deputy Prime Minister for social affairs. The existing Framework Act on Low Birth Rate in an Aging Society would be replaced by a more comprehensive Act on Population Crisis Response, tied to the establishment of the new ministry. However, these bills are also stalled due to ongoing partisan conflicts.
You Hye-mi, Senior Secretary for Low Birthrate in the Presidential Office, stated, “A new ministry of population strategy must be launched quickly to enhance future competitiveness amidst demographic changes. It would be desirable for the ruling and opposition parties to reach a compromise and process this early.” The new department would also lead in policies related to the utilization of foreign labor. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, had pledged to establish a department to address the population crisis during the last general election, and legislator Baek Hye-ryun introduced a bill to amend the Government Organization Act to create this department. Although the Democratic Party opposes the creation of a Minister for political affairs within the Government Organization Act, a compromise is achievable during parliamentary discussions.
If party leaders Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jae-myung meet, they should aim to agree on establishing the new ministry and expedite the legislative process. For any party aspiring to govern, there is no more urgent task than addressing the low birth rate and population challenges. The President could also propose a meeting with the leaders of both parties to tackle this issue and set the stage for progress.
