South Korea has a very low birth rate. On average, a woman gives birth to 0.75 children in this East Asian country. This collapse in fertility is believed to be due to an imbalance between the professional and private lives of South Koreans.

In short, they work a lot and have little time for their private lives. In the country, the official working week is 40 hours, but it can be as long as 52 hours per week due to overtime.

Less work for more children

On average, each South Korean works 1,874 hours per year, 130 hours more than the average in Western countries.

Faced with this birth rate crisis, the new President Lee Jae-myung proposes reducing working hours. Instead of five or more days a week, South Koreans would have to work only four and a half days.

They will therefore be able to devote more time to their private lives and have more children. The leader's goal is to increase the country's birth rate in the long term.

Subsidies and tax breaks to encourage businesses to join the plan

To encourage businesses to implement his plan, the president is promising them subsidies and tax breaks. By 2030, the workweek in the country is expected to be reduced from 40 to 36 hours. Unions welcome this reform.

They believe this will help "address the country's low birth rate and sluggish growth." The economic sector, however, is cautious.

Its proponents believe this reform is risky because the South Korean economy is not in Olympic shape. In any case, the new president has no intention of backtracking.