Population Strategy Committee to launch Thursday as enforcement decree clears Cabinet

Final preparations are underway for the launch of the Population Strategy Committee on Thursday, with details on the scope of advance budget consultations and the committee's composition now in place.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved an amendment to the enforcement decree of the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society.

The amendment was needed to set out delegated matters following the full revision of the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society into the Population Strategy Framework Act.

Among the key provisions of the approved decree is a change to the decree's official title, from the "Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society" to the "Enforcement Decree of the Population Strategy Framework Act."

The decree defines the scope of projects subject to advance budget consultation on population-related initiatives as those included in the basic population strategy plan that require budget measures above a threshold set by the committee after hearing the health minister's views, and establishes the relevant procedures.

The decree also sets out rules governing the composition and operation of the Population Strategy Committee. To strengthen policy expertise, four specialized subcommittees will be established — covering social strategy, economic strategy, coordination and evaluation, and immigration — each tasked with handling matters within its respective domain.

Population policy officers designated by central government agencies and metropolitan and provincial governments will oversee and coordinate population policy within their respective institutions, ensuring that population initiatives at both the central and regional levels proceed smoothly.

The decree also requires the Population Strategy Committee to draw up a plan for evaluating population policy and to complete each evaluation by April 15 of the year following the assessment period.

Kim Hyun-sook, director general for population and child policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said the ministry would "support the smooth launch and operation of the Population Strategy Committee on the basis of the amended decree and effectively advance the national policy task of responding to demographic change through strengthened population policy governance."

Shin Kkot-sigyae, director of the population strategy bureau at the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, said the ministry would "swiftly finalize specific guidelines, including detailed rules on advance budget consultations stipulated in this decree," adding that it would ensure "the soon-to-launch Population Strategy Committee can actively fulfill its role as the central control tower for population policy."