Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs co-host 42nd Population Forum on revisiting low birth rate policy needs; forum hears youth perspectives on marriage, childbirth, work and housing, and explores ways to involve young people as policy designers rather than policy targets

Kim Jin-o, vice chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, speaks at the 42nd Population Forum, "Revisiting Policy Needs for Addressing the Low Birth Rate," held Wednesday at Chohyeonsil Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy]
Kim Jin-o, vice chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, speaks at the 42nd Population Forum, "Revisiting Policy Needs for Addressing the Low Birth Rate," held Wednesday at Chohyeonsil Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy]

Kim Jin-o, vice chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, said Wednesday that he deeply recognizes the importance of youth policy and pledged to build a communication framework that allows young people to participate in the policymaking process.

Kim made the remarks at the 42nd Population Forum, "Revisiting Policy Needs for Addressing the Low Birth Rate," co-hosted with the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs at Chohyeonsil Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. "We will bring together the capabilities of diverse social actors — including the business community, religious groups, media organizations and research institutions — to build a society where young people can dream about the future and where raising children is a blessing," he said.

The committee is reviewing youth policy proposals raised at a youth roundtable on June 11, covering marriage, childbirth, pregnancy and parenting; housing and finance; and employment and income.

The forum was organized to hear directly from young people and explore policy improvements, with the aim of ensuring that the recent uptick in births and marriages develops into a sustainable trend rather than a temporary rebound.

In the first session, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs presented findings on the demographic factors behind the recent rise in births, as well as an analysis of marriage trends and shifting values in Korean society.

The institute attributed the recent increase in births largely to a population effect driven by the echo-boom generation entering their 30s. It recommended additional policy efforts to address structural constraints — including housing costs and labor market instability — to sustain the rebound.

The second and third sessions featured both ordinary young people and youth representatives who had previously participated in policy decision-making processes, sharing personal experiences and proposing directions for youth policy.

In the second session, young people aged 31 to 35 living in Seoul, Gangwon Province, South Jeolla Province and Daejeon shared their views on marriage and childbirth and the practical difficulties facing their generation. The third session had youth experts draw on their firsthand experience in policymaking to discuss how young people's voices can be translated into actual policy.

The fourth session outlined ways to organically link youth policy and population policy around key issues affecting the younger generation. Participants called for a comprehensive policy framework addressing youth asset and family formation, dating and marriage, support for young people in regional areas, and education and inequality reduction.

The next population forum, co-hosted by the committee and the institute, is scheduled for July on the theme of "Regions and Youth."


thlee@heraldcorp.com