Foreign workers can be option to increase population: presidential aide

South Korea needs to consider accepting more foreign workers to increase its working-age population amid a looming demographic crisis, a presidential aide said Wednesday. You Hye-mi, a senior aide on addressing low birth rates, made the remark in a radio interview as South Korea is grappling with the world's lowest birth rate and an aging population. "As the working-age population is sharply decreasing, utilizing foreign workers could be an option to increase the population," You said in an interview on KBS radio. South Korea's total fertility rate, or the average number of children expected to be born to a woman over her lifetime, reached a record low of 0.72 in 2023. The figure is far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration. If the current trend continues, You warned the country's population could decrease by about 30 percent and the proportion of the elderly population will surpass that of the working population. "It is questionable whether the curre nt system can function as it does now in such a situation," she said. While the current work permit system allows recruiting of foreigners in non-professional fields, You said the government needs a long-term, comprehensive strategy to hire foreign employees and the proposed Ministry of Population Strategy and Planning aims to play a critical role for the goal. She said the cost of the pilot program to recruit domestic helpers from the Philippines is still high due to the application of minimum wage systems, calling for measures to make the program more accessible to ordinary households. Source: Yonhap News Agency