Kim Jin-o calls closing gap between large and small firms 'top priority'

Kim Jin-o, vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, said Monday that gaps in childbirth and child-rearing support systems — including the absence of a parental allowance for self-employed sole proprietors — must be addressed quickly, calling the disparity between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises the country's most pressing challenge.

Kim made the remarks at a policy forum on demographic change held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. "To support family life, SMEs need to raise the uptake of parental leave and flexible working arrangements," he said. "It is important not only for business owners but for society as a whole to improve awareness and build a family-friendly corporate culture."

Kim also said that while childbirth and child-rearing support systems exist, many SME workplaces are either unaware of them or unable to make full use of them due to business constraints. "Making sure these systems are actually used on the ground is what matters," he said.

At the forum, Park Eun-jeong, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, presented proposals calling for expanded financial support for childbirth and child-rearing, broader childcare services, and the development of work-life balance models tailored to the characteristics of individual businesses.

Drawing on a survey of SMEs and small business owners on childbirth and child-rearing awareness, Park also stressed the need to ease the burden of housing, child-rearing and education costs and to expand evening, nighttime and weekend childcare to reflect the working hours of SME employees. She also called for flexible work arrangements to be operated in ways suited to each company's characteristics and workers' needs.

The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy and the Korea Federation of SMEs agreed to build a close cooperative framework, starting with this forum, including the establishment of a standing consultation channel to gather ongoing feedback from the field.