The lower limit for "multi-children households" eligible for government assistance is set to be expanded to include families raising two children from the current three, as the nation tries to reverse a downward spiral in birth rates which has hit another record low.

The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy announced the move on Wednesday, reflecting the change in its five-year plan to encourage people to have more children. 

Incentives include educational, childcare, and housing assistance for these families. With the revision, tuition fees for a second child will be free. Multi-child families will also be eligible to receive state assistance in housing and rental deposits. 

South Korea's total fertility rate hit a fresh record low last year as an increasing number of young people shunned marriage and giving birth amid rising unemployment and surging housing costs.

According to data from Statistics Korea last month, Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime -- plunge to an all-time low of 0.84 in 2020, down from 0.92 the previous year.