Korea to Raise Benefits for Working Parents to Boost Births
- Measures mark latest bid to exit world’s lowest fertility rate
- Swathe of factors blamed for reluctance to have babies
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South Korea plans to sharply raise the ceiling on compensation for parental leave in the latest effort to encourage more births as the nation struggles with the world’s lowest fertility rate.
The maximum monthly compensation will be raised to 2.5 million won ($1,809) from 1.5 million won if a parent temporarily leaves a workplace to take care of a child, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday in a statement. The plan is among measures including easier housing loans, more babysitters and cheaper early education that are being put in place to stem a decline in the fertility rate, which hit a record low of 0.72 last year.