SOUTH Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo today called for detailed and effective measures to boost the nation’s falling birth rate, as massive public spending has failed to increase the population.

“In spite of many measures, the matter of low birth rate is getting worse,” said Han, Yonhap news agency reported.

Han instructed relevant ministries to come up with “more detailed and effective measures,” saying that “a fundamental reflection on existing measures is needed”.

South Korea remains dogged by a chronic decline in childbirths as many young people delay or give up on having babies in the face of an economic slowdown and high home prices, according to the report.

The nation’s total fertility rate – the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime – came to just 0.79 in the third quarter of last year, according to government data.

Han said the government will develop customised child care services as part of its efforts to increase the birth rate. – Bernama, February 16, 2023.