South Korea's birth rate is so low, one company offers staff a $75,000 incentive to have children
CBSN
Seoul — South Korea's overall birth rate hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, and with that figure projected to fall even further in 2024, some Korean businesses have started offering remarkably generous incentives to convince their workers to become parents.
"The declining fertility rate leads to a decline in the workforce and purchasing power and slowing economic growth, which in turn directly affects the sustainability of corporate management, meaning companies need to actively address the issue," Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) president Chul Chung said recently at a Korean-Japanese business seminar dedicated to the topic.
Jin Sung Yoo, a senior research fellow at KERI, said the main reason for South Korea's worryingly low birth rate was the "effect on career progression" associated with having children.
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