South Korean Firms to Pay Employees Up to $75,000 in Child Bonuses

As the cost of raising a child increases, cultural norms change and large issues loom, more and more people are making the decision not to have children. While deeply personal and seemingly small in the grand scheme of things, this decision can have a big impact on a country’s future—especially one like South Korea, where currently the fertility rate of 0.78 is far lower than the 2.1 it needs to maintain its population. That’s why some businesses in the country have recently upped the ante for their employees. Offering up to $75,000 in bonuses for those who choose to have children.

Booyoung Group and Ssangbangwool announced their ambitious “birth programs” this year, according to The Korea Herald. Booyoung Group, a construction firm based in Seoul, declared it would give a $75,000 per-child bonus to employees who have babies and Ssangbangwool, an underwear company, said it would offer employees $22,400 once they welcomed their first child, another $22,400 after their second and $30,000 after their third. Booyoung Group confirms that the benefit would be available to both women and men.

Booyoung Group’s Chairman Lee Joong-keun said the company is offering “direct financial support” to its employees to help ease the monetary burden of raising children, while Ssangbangwool noted that, "A low birth rate is an important task for our society to overcome. The company will take responsibility and put all-out efforts to help the country increase the fertility rate.”

Booyoung also noted that employees with three babies will be given an option to choose between receiving 300 million Korean won ($225,000) in cash or rental housing, if the government provides land for construction, he added at a company event on Monday.

As South Korea grapples with the complex challenges posed by its declining population, the proactive measures undertaken by Booyoung Group and Ssangbangwool are not the first, but certainly the most generous. On February 12, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered his administration to develop tax incentives and subsidies for companies that encourage their employees to have children. In South Korea’s capital, Seoul, municipal authorities continued to give $750 every month to parents who have children until their babies turn one year old.

It’s South Korea’s hope that by prioritizing policies and initiatives that alleviate the financial burden of parenthood and creating a supportive environment for families, the country may be able to lay the groundwork for a more sustainable future.