Anchor: President Yoon Suk Yeol held a policy briefing in which he updated the public on the progress of his reform projects in the areas of education, labor, health care and the pension system, as well as issues related to the nation's low birthrate. Our Kim Bumsoo focuses on the president's pledge to support work-life balance for South Koreans to help boost the nation's falling birth rate. 

Report: President Yoon Suk Yeol says the government will ensure work-life balance to turn around the nation’s declining birth rate.
 
In a televised speech on Thursday, Yoon presented his plans to resolve the issue, which the government has dubbed a “national emergency.”
 
[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
“The young people of this country say they don’t have the luxury of thinking about getting married and having children. [The government will] ensure that it is possible to pursue family and work at the same time, which is what our young people want. We will also reduce child-rearing and housing costs. The government will give that choice back to our young people, so they can think about getting married and having children.”
 
The president said the excessively competitive nature of Korean society is at the root of the low birth rate problem, especially in the Seoul capital area, where the nation’s population is concentrated. 

[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
“Demographic experts agree that the culture of unnecessary and excessive competition is the core reason for the demographic cliff the nation is facing. In the case of Korea, the fundamental solution to the population problem is balanced regional development …” 

According to a presidential aide in charge of tackling the low birth rate problem, South Korea’s population could decline a further 30 percent by 2072 and the elderly population could surpass the working-age population.

The government plans to raise the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime in South Korea to one by 2030, from last year’s record low of point-72. 

During the policy briefing, President Yoon also outlined his plans to reform the nation's pension system, which is facing depletion due to an aging population, as well as labor, education and health care.

Tying efforts to boost the nation's population to the success of his other reform campaigns, Yoon called for support in completing what he called "life-or-death tasks" for the nation's future.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.