The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) has recommended South Korea to tackle its population decline by boosting its fertility rate and expanding its working population. 

According to the finance ministry on Thursday, addressing the nation’s population decline took up the largest share among recommendations made by OECD to South Korea in its Economic Survey for 2024. 

As a way to increase the nation’s fertility rate, the OECD recommended improving the work-life balance, tightening and enforcing quality criteria for private childcare, improving the accessibility of public childcare and expanding parental leave coverage to the entire workforce.  

The organization also proposed that South Korea ease the burden of high housing costs and reduce the need to pay for expensive private tutoring. 

In addition to boosting the fertility rate, the OECD recommended South Korea to lengthen working lives and relax strict visa eligibility requirements for skilled migrants as part of efforts to make better use of foreign labor. 

Meanwhile, the OECD forecast South Korea’s economy will post growth of two-point-six percent and its consumer prices will log growth of two-and-a-half percent this year. 

The economic growth outlook was identical to the organization’s May projection while the inflation rate was down point-one percentage point.