President Yoon Suk Yeol has called for tax benefits and other means to support voluntary corporate measures to help overcome the nation's low birth rate, saying it is "very encouraging" to see such efforts by companies.

Presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung said on Tuesday that Yoon ordered officials to immediately seek means of government support for the businesses, including tax benefits.

South Korean construction firm Booyoung Group recently provided a childbirth grant worth 100 million won, or around 75-thousand U.S. dollars, each to 70 employees who have had a child since 2021.

In order to reduce their employees’ tax burdens, the company awarded the payouts as gifts, rather than earned income.