South Korea’s birth rate crisis is so dire, the country is offering free cash to entice rich people to have kids

South Korea has one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
The country's government recently expanded its cash subsidies for parents with children, which will now cover the richest 10% of the population.
Starting in late 2019, parents with children below the age of 8 will also be allowed to spend one less hour at work each day to have more time with their children.

South Korea's declining fertility rate is one of the world's lowest, and none of the government's efforts to reverse the trend have been successful.

Because of the dropping fertility rate, or the number of children per woman of reproductive age, South Korea's population is expected to begin decreasing in the next 10 years. The government's cash subsidies monthly payments that most parents are eligible for have not made a difference so far.

Recently, however, South Korea said it will expand the monthly subsidies of up to $270 to include the wealthiest 10% of people in the country, according to Channel NewsAsia . The government started a subsidy system of about $88 per month in September. Channel NewsAsia did not specify whether the subsidies need to be spent on specific items .

In addition, parents with children below the age of 8 will be allowed to spend one less hour at work each day to take care of their kids, and paid paternity leave will cover 10 days instead of three. Channel NewsAsia reported that the changes will go into effect in late 2019.

South Korea's fertility rate fell to a record-low 0.95 children per woman this year, while demographers say a country's fertility rate needs to be at least 2.2 for the population to be stable. The South Korean government has spent about $121 billion over the past 13 years in an effort to get the birth rate up.

Channel NewsAsia reported that South Korea's birth rate crisis persists for a number of reasons: high costs of child-rearing, limited daycare, and long hours at work. Some South Koreans say they are not having children due to a lack of financial stability, according to Quartz .

South Korea also holds the oldest average age of women having their first child , at age 31.

According to the Brookings Institute which cited data from a 2014 study commissioned by the National Assembly in Seoul South Koreans could "face natural extinction" by 2750 if the country's birth rate remains at 1.19 children per woman. The country's birth rate is already below that mark.

As South Korea tries to increase the number of births in the country, the government has also pledged to build more kindergartens and daycare centers.

"This package is to focus on giving hope to people aged in their 20s to their 40s and to make certain that their quality of life does not deteriorate when opting for marriage and childbirth," Kim Sang-hee, vice chairwoman of a presidential task force focusing on South Korea's birth rate, told Channel NewsAsia.

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