We need to work less to increase the birth rate

The President of South Korea has proposed working less to increase the birth rate

South Korea has the lowest birth rate in the world: on average, each woman has only 0.75 children.

President Lee Jae-myung said that this trend threatens the economy and social system and proposed a radical measure—reducing the working week to four and a half days.

According to the head of state, the country needs a “bold political shift towards a sustainable balance between work and personal life.”

Lee Jae-myung plans to reduce working hours from 40 to 36 hours per week without loss of pay by 2030 and eventually introduce a four-day working week.

The government is setting up a working group to develop a reform plan and a subsidy system for companies.