Officials at the Ministry of Gender Equality said Sunday that the government is considering a set of measures to halt a further slide in the country's birthrate.
The measures, designed to make it easier for women to combine working and child-bearing, include the payment of child-raising allowances to working mothers and no benefits for receiving a vasectomy.
The average number of babies born to a South Korean woman throughout her lifetime dropped to 1.42 in 1999, a level below the world average of 1.53, since it recorded 1.59 in 1990.
The ministry wishes to hike the average number to at least 1.60.
A ministry official said...a drop in birthrate could lead to labor shortages and the aging of the society in the long-term view, posing various problems in the economy.
The ministry plans to hold a forum Friday with experts in a bid to get feedback on measures to stop the country's birthrate from falling.