HanmiGlobal chairman receives national honor for efforts to reverse demographic decline

Kim Jong-hoon, chairman of HanmiGlobal, has received the Moran Order of Civil Merit for his contributions to combating the low birth rate and promoting a culture of work-life balance. Kim was recognized for founding the Korean Peninsula Future Population Research Institute — the country's first private think tank dedicated to demographic issues — and for expanding corporate programs supporting childbirth and child-rearing.

HanmiGlobal announced Monday that Kim received the honor at a ceremony marking the 15th Population Day, held Friday.

The Order of Civil Merit is a government decoration awarded to individuals who have made distinguished contributions to national and social development. The Moran class is the second-highest of the order's five tiers.

Kim was recognized for operating corporate birth-incentive programs, proposing models for responding to the demographic crisis, and helping broaden public discussion of the issue. He founded the Korean Peninsula Future Population Research Institute in 2022, serving as its inaugural chairman and leading efforts that included demographic research, policy proposals, seminars featuring overseas scholars, and population forums.

Kim has long viewed the demographic problem as a matter of national survival and sustainability, consistently stressing the need for active corporate participation and institutional solutions.

HanmiGlobal has also expanded its own family-friendly policies to address the low birth rate. In 2023, the company introduced a policy guaranteeing automatic promotion by one rank for any employee who has a third child. The bold incentive drew wide attention and has been credited with helping spread a pro-natalist culture across the industry.

Since its founding in 1996, HanmiGlobal has operated under the management philosophy of building a "happy, employee-centered company," running programs that support staff across the full life cycle of marriage, childbirth and child-rearing.

Employees who marry are eligible for a housing loan of up to 100 million won ($66,500). The company covers infertility treatment costs without limit and operates an infertility leave program. Employees who give birth receive 30 days of special paid leave on top of the legally mandated maternity leave, along with a birth bonus.

Childcare support measures are also in place. The company supplements salary for the first three months of parental leave and allows up to two years of parental leave per child. Remote work and reduced working hours during the child-rearing period are also available.

According to HanmiGlobal, the family-friendly policies have produced results: the average fertility rate among married employees stands at 1.57 children — roughly double South Korea's total fertility rate of 0.8.

In remarks upon receiving the honor, Kim said he was "deeply honored" to receive the Moran Order of Civil Merit. "If the current trend of population decline continues, South Korea's population will fall to around 15 million by 2100, putting the nation's very existence at risk," he said.

"The demographic problem is not one for the government to tackle alone — the private sector must also come together and work actively toward a solution," Kim added. "I will continue to fulfill my corporate social responsibility and do everything I can to build a country where future generations can have hope."