News And Current Events

South Korea is considering paying parents 100 million won (£59,000) in cash for each baby born in a bid to boost the country’s diminishing birth rate.

The South Korean government’s Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission is holding a public survey to gauge the opinion of the people before it can be implemented.

The survey that began on 17 April will ask four questions to understand if they believe it is acceptable to spend 22 trillion won (£12.9bn) annually on the programme and if a financial incentive would motivate couples in the country to have children.

This amount accounts for approximately half of the current national budget allocated to initiatives addressing low birth rates, which totals 48tn won (£28bn) annually.

“Through this survey, we plan to re-evaluate the country’s birth promotion policies to determine whether direct financial subsidies could be an effective solution,” the commission said in a statement.