Hyundai Motor joins push to reverse Ulsan's birth rate decline

Hyundai Motor's management and union have launched a support initiative for families with newborns in Ulsan, as concerns grow that the country's low birth rate is reshaping the population structure and future labor market of industrial cities.

The company announced Monday that families who register a newborn birth in Ulsan will receive a care package worth 100,000 won in baby and childcare goods.

A total of 2,000 households are eligible for the packages, which were assembled with a budget of 200 million won.

Each kit contains items for the early stages of infant care, including a functional swaddle wrap, a newborn hat, a temperature and humidity monitor, nail scissors, a pacifier, a nursery mood light and a vehicle infant-on-board sign.

Additional support is also planned. Hyundai Motor will hold a lottery among package recipients before the end of this year to give infant car seats to 20 households.

Ulsan has recently shown signs of a birth rate recovery. According to the Ministry of Statistics, the city's total fertility rate reached 1.08 in the first quarter of this year, up 0.13 from the same period a year earlier. That marks the first time the rate has climbed back above 1 since the second quarter of 2021, when it stood at 1.01.

The low birth rate remains a pressing concern for industry, however. A prolonged decline in the working-age population could affect manufacturers' ability to secure labor and weigh on the vitality of regional economies. That backdrop has prompted companies to expand corporate social responsibility efforts, including support for children and youth and initiatives to improve local living conditions.

Hyundai Motor's Ulsan factory has carried out donation activities to support future generations in the region since 2017. The initiative is now in its 10th consecutive year, with cumulative support totaling 1.9 billion won.

"We will fulfill our social responsibility to help resolve the national challenge of low birth rates and ensure that Ulsan's future generations can grow up healthy," a Hyundai Motor official said.