[News Today] POLICIES TO RAISE BIRTHRATE

[LEAD]
With South Korea facing seriously low birth rates, local governments are actively transforming creative ideas into policies that genuinely support childbirth and parenting. Meanwhile, some highly customized solutions are emerging, distinct from central government measures, but there are also some absurd policies.

[REPORT]
This kids cafe run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government is equipped with diverse facilities for children, but it charges only 5000 won, or slightly under 4 dollars, for two hours.

The staff are certified childcare workers who make sure safety is impeccable.
That's why on weekends the facility becomes fully booked in just five minutes.

Song Ju-ah / Seoul resident (age 4)

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Council work together to expand the budget every year.

Park Hee-won / Seoul Metropolitan Gov't
Helping families with children spend time outside of home comfortably is part of
efforts to encourage childbirth.

Local governments and councils also strive to raise the nation's plunging birth rate.

They are lowering the criteria for childbirth benefits by recognizing families with at least two children as multi-children families and lowering residency requirements.

In addition to daily-life policies such as providing special leave from work to employees whose spouses undergo fertility treatment and transportation subsidies during the period of pregnancy and childbirth...

...they have also devised regulations on admission fee exemptions, as well as separate services at public agencies and designated ambulances specifically for pregnant women.
These policies reflect the desperate efforts to encourage childbirth.

Park Yong-shik / Chungcheongbuk-do Prov. Gov't
Support that can be overlooked by the central government can be provided by
local governments and be welcomed even more by local residents.

Some of the childbirth policies are far from conventional, like subsidies for fertility restoration and workouts for strengthening pelvic muscles.

Sound Byte //One, two, three! Squeeze!

They trigger backlash due to the misconception of childbirth policies.

Ahn Han-young / Seoul Gwanak-gu Council (Dec. 2023)
Fertility treatment subsidies end up in doctors' pockets. In a sense, they are
designed to help doctors.

Aside from childbirth policies that are met with public mistrust and criticism, policies designed by financially vulnerable local governments to provide help in cash also need to be re-evaluated with prudence.