Can South Korea rescue its alarming birth rate

South Korean authorities launched a flurry of initiatives in 2025 aimed at reversing the country’s demographic collapse—part of a broader effort to nudge up the world’s lowest fertility rate, which has stubbornly resisted change for over a decade.

Population figures have now declined for four consecutive years, and the country’s GDP per capita recently slipped to fifth in Asia, behind Taiwan, whose fertility rate is only marginally higher. Despite pouring nearly $300 billion into pro-natalist policies since 2006, the number of births have continued to fall—until recently.

In a surprising shift, births rose for the 15th consecutive month in September 2025, according to Statistics Korea. From January through September, 190,000 babies were born, marking a 6.9 percent year-over-year increase—the largest since 2007.

Much of this uptick has been driven by women in their early 30s—those born in the mid-1990s, during one of the last relatively large birth cohorts in South Korean history. However, demographers say this cohort-driven bump is likely temporary and warn against overinterpreting the rise.

Newsweek reached out to the South Korean Embassy in the United States by email with a request for comment.

Parental Leave: Incentives for Both Parents to Share Care

The government introduced the “6+6 Parental Leave Scheme” in 2025 to promote gender-equitable caregiving. Under the program, both parents are encouraged to take time off work after childbirth, with the second parent—typically the father—eligible for near full wage replacement if they take at least six months of leave.

The policy makes South Korea one of the most generous OECD countries for paid paternity leave.

“These measures are helping to promote a shift toward a model in which both mothers and fathers participate in paid work and share caregiving responsibilities,” Jung Jae-hoon, professor of social welfare at Seoul Women’s University, told Newsweek. “The key objective is to make fathers’ use of parental leave a realistic and attractive option.”

Cash Incentives: Monthly Child Allowances from Birth to School

Starting this year, parents of newborns became eligible to receive a one‑time child‑birth grant of 2 million won ($1,3850) under South Korea’s national support program, with larger amounts provided for second and subsequent children.

Jung welcomed the support but warned it remains “far short of what is necessary” to fundamentally alter family planning decisions.

Infertility Coverage: Free IVF for Eligible Couples

Seoul, home to more than 9 million Koreans, expanded its support for fertility treatments as part of its effort to address low birth rates. Under the city’s updated policy, the number of fertility procedures eligible for subsidy has been increased from 25 per infertile couple to 25 per childbirth, and medical costs for treatments— including in vitro fertilization—can be covered even if a treatment cycle fails.

City officials reported that one in five births in the capital in 2024 resulted from fertility procedures supported by the program.

Housing Support: Rent Relief and Loans for Young Families

In March, government also revised housing policy to prioritize newlywed and childbirth households, relaxing eligibility rules and increasing their share of special housing supply units in both public and private sales.

Families with children born after June 2024 became eligible for renewed housing benefits even if they previously benefited from them.

Despite Gains, Deep-Rooted Pressures Persist

Jung emphasized that while these measures are “helpful,” they cannot overcome the core obstacle to boosting birth rates: South Korea’s high-pressure, high-cost society.

“Many people cite ‘financial burden’ as the main reason for avoiding childbirth,” he said. “But this reflects the pressure costs imposed by South Korea’s intensely competitive social structure.”

With the average cost of raising a child at $275,000, and national annual cram school expenses exceeding $19 billion, Jung argues that even dual-income households are overwhelmed. He said these costs are “often beyond what even dual-income households can manage, and they cannot be resolved through expanded birth incentives alone.”

Is the Window Already Closed?

Jung warned that the current birth rebound is likely to fade. The larger cohorts of women born in the early 1990s are aging out of their childbearing years. From 2026 onward, they’ll be replaced by smaller generations born after 1996, when births had already begun declining.

“I do not believe that the recent expansion of policy support can fundamentally change the mindset of people who have already decided not to have children,” he said. “However, such policies may be effective in influencing those who are still undecided.”

Jung believes bold systemic change is the only real solution.

“South Korea needs broad social reform that offers people a credible vision of a future in which raising children is possible,” he said, adding that reforms should dismantle “outdated political structures” and encompass education, gender equality, and labor flexibility.

“The golden time for responding to low fertility has already passed,” he added. “It is now time to acknowledge this reality calmly and begin a bold discussion about fundamentally reshaping Korean society.”