RECORD LOW MARRIAGES IN 2022

[Anchor Lead]

Behind such decrease stands financial difficulties experienced by married couples rising from higher housing and living costs. The number of marriages also fell to a record low last year, serving as an other factor to the plummeting birth rate.

[Pkg]

This woman, a professional illustrator, has been married for about 2 years but still has no plans to have a baby. The biggest reason is finances. She can't work after childbirth, and that will reduce her income.

[Soundbite] (Newlywed in her 30s) : "Childbirth raises monthly spending by an additional KRW 2 mn and KRW 3 mn."

Given the nearly doubled interest on bank loans taken out for her rental home, living expenses are already extremely tight.

[Soundbite] (Newlywed in her 30s) : "If I owned a house, the financial burden would be less. But with all these uncertainties, it’s difficult to have a child."

When home prices rise by two fold, generally, the number of newborns decline. In fact a study shows in the case of people who don't own a house, the rate of decline in newborns is as large as 0.45. The number of marriages is also falling. Last year posted a record low of 192,000 marriages.

[Soundbite] Choi Jeong-ah(Office worker in 30s) : "I need to consider my career. If I return after childbirth, there’s no guarantee I’ll get the same job and I would be affected in terms of promotion."

Meanwhile deaths numbered a record high last year due to Covid and the aging population. This has resulted in a natural population decline where deaths outnumber newborns. The decline has more than doubled in just a year. The trend of low birthrate and aging society are only expected to exacerbate in the years to come. According to government forecast, by the year 2070, the South Korean population's median age is expected to exceed 60 and the working age population will decrease by half, posing a serious threat to the domestic economy.