President Yoon Suk Yeol pledged to look into offering tax incentives and deferring tax audits for small to medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) that set positive examples in supporting their employees as they seek to balance work and family life.

At a meeting on tackling the nation's low birth rate and population decline Wednesday, Yoon mentioned possible incentives for the SMEs, including policy fund support and giving preference in public project bidding processes.

The president said support for work-family balance should not stop at a simple cost increase, but should be viewed as an investment toward raising corporate competitiveness and achieving greater growth.

He called to increase labor flexibility by expanding workers' individual right to make their decision, and to help make giving birth and raising children a happy experience for the nation's young people.

Referring to births in the second quarter surging year over year after eight years, the president called for the government and the private sector to join efforts toward securing a momentum for a definitive turnabout in low births.