President Lee Jae-myung called on the 14th for a redesign of South Korea's socioeconomic system, saying the country has reached "a turning point to change the structure and the very framework of Korea's population policy." He personally proposed measures ranging from publicly funded wedding packages and expanded support for pregnant women to recognition of non-traditional family forms such as unmarried mothers, in a bid to encourage marriage and childbirth — the core of population policy.
Lee made the remarks at a ceremony unveiling the government's population strategy vision, held at the presidential compound in Seoul. "Quantitative growth in population strategy matters, but what is needed now is a fundamental shift toward a population policy that pursues qualitative growth," he said. "Over the past 20 years, successive governments have poured enormous fiscal resources into tackling low birth rates and population aging, but the population problem is not being easily resolved," he said, describing it as "a comprehensive social problem stemming from an environment in which individuals bear responsibility for child-rearing, from anxiety about the future, and from disparities created when opportunities are concentrated among a few." He stressed the need to "create comprehensive measures that cover marriage, childbirth and child-rearing while further strengthening the state's responsibility for care and qualitatively improving the labor environment."
The Presidential Committee on Population Strategy presented detailed tasks centered on four areas: life-cycle support for young adults, a dignified old age, the realization of a competence-based society grounded in technological innovation, and the building of an open society with a mutually beneficial system. The tasks include expanding tailored support for young adults and households with multiple children and widening the public guardianship program for older adults.
Lee added that "more fundamental issues must be discussed," arguing that policymakers need to examine why people choose not to marry or have children and how to address those causes. "As we shift to an advanced, artificial intelligence-centered society, jobs will shrink, and ultimately the question becomes how to sustain demand and consumption," he said, proposing a national job guarantee under which the public sector would take responsibility for jobs in some productive areas, much like income guarantees.
Responding to experts who noted that births are declining as women have children later in life, Lee said he agreed, adding, "Given the level of Korea's fiscal capacity, it is hard to find a reasonable justification for providing support only to pregnant women aged 35 and over." He went on to say, "Having and raising children is a matter of national survival," and raised his voice to argue that "we must change our thinking so that the national community takes basic responsibility for everything from birth to child-rearing and education."
On concerns that young adults hesitate to marry because of costs, he said, "Couldn't the public sector support wedding packages?" Lee said, "I'm not sure whether I think too much like a socialist, but there are public wedding halls already — what if the public sector covered the basics, such as wedding packages, catering and flowers for the venue?" Wedding packages, known in Korea as "sudeume," refer to the bundled studio photography, wedding dress and makeup services that couples typically purchase.
He also said the concept of family needs to be broadened. "In our society, the traditional notion of family — a man and a woman registering their marriage and becoming a legally wedded couple — still largely prevails, but in Europe the share of unmarried mothers is quite high," Lee said. "Our society views unmarried mothers as odd, and we need to confront this issue head-on and open a path forward."