Korea's population body eyes 'ESP' corporate metric to tackle demographic crisis

South Korea's Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy plans to expand and restructure into a Population Strategy Committee in September, releasing the country's first national population strategy master plan this year and taking on a coordinating role to fill policy gaps across government ministries. The body is also considering introducing an "ESP" (environment, society and population) corporate evaluation metric — similar to the existing ESG framework — to factor demographic responsibility into assessments of private and public companies.

Vice Chairman Kim Jin-o outlined the plans at a press briefing Wednesday at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, detailing the September restructuring and the committee's future direction.

The new Population Strategy Committee will take over from the current body with a broader mandate, overseeing and coordinating population policy beyond low birth rates and aging to include regional demographic imbalances.

Under a proposed "advance budget consultation" system, the committee would coordinate the investment priorities of related ministries on population-related projects before budgets are finalized. Each ministry would also be able to designate a dedicated population policy officer.

"We plan to announce the first national population strategy master plan this year, covering not only responses to low birth rates and aging but also structural reforms across our society," Kim said. "It will include a wide range of policies to create an environment conducive to marriage, childbirth and child-rearing, expand support for a dignified old age, redesign economic and social systems in response to demographic shifts, and change public awareness."

Kim said the committee would establish a population strategy task force drawing on the business community, religious groups, academia and the media to build broad social cooperation. "We also plan to work with the business sector so that companies can take the lead in creating jobs for young people and spreading a culture that supports work-life balance," he added.

Kim welcomed the recent uptick in births but said population policy must continue to be strengthened. The number of women of childbearing age is expected to decline, making it difficult to sustain the trend.

"Just as the national pension fund applies ESG criteria when investing in companies, we have an idea — still at the conceptual stage — of evaluating private and public companies by adding population to environmental and social responsibility," Kim said.

On the growing diversity of family structures, including the rise of common-law unions, Kim said the government has no choice but to keep pace with the changing shape of society.

"About 5 percent of births in Korea occur outside of marriage, and we intend to address that at the Population Strategy Committee level," Kim said. "Other ministries are also paying attention, and views on the direction are gradually being expressed."

"Whether it is a single-person household or a two-person household, raising a child should receive equal support," he added. "We cannot have a situation where a teenager or someone in their early 20s, pregnant and afraid, gives birth in a bathroom."

Kim said the committee would help address the demographic problem by filling blind spots left by individual ministries — what he called "niche policies."

"Forward-looking measures on work-life balance and child care will emerge, but what we need now are niche policies," Kim said. "For example, public daycare centers in the Greater Seoul area are at capacity while private ones have no applicants — that kind of issue may seem minor, but there are surprisingly many such policy gaps that need to be addressed, and we are working to coordinate them."

Kim also noted that the government's fiscal support to raise the birth rate had not been lacking, and said it was now time for businesses and society to step in and support pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing from the perspective of a shared community culture.

"I was curious about how much financial support the government provides to children and parents from pregnancy through age 8, so I looked into it — but no one knew, so I want to inform the public directly," Kim said. "It is spread across ministries and there are many programs, so people do not feel it, but Korea would rank among the top three countries in the world for monetary support."

"Personally, I would like to create a culture of 'birth congratulation gifts,' similar to the tradition of giving cash gifts at weddings and funerals," he said. "How long can the state cover everything? If tax revenues fall short, the costs of care and welfare will inevitably run dry."