[INTERVIEW] More migration must be considered, says population policy expert

It’s time to rethink the country’s population policies and that might mean bringing more foreigners into Korea, said Na Kyung-won, deputy chief of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy and special ambassador for...

Na Kyung-won, deputy chief of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy and special ambassador for climate change gives an interview to the Korea JoongAng Daily and JoongAng Ilbo at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday. [KANG JUNG-HYUN]

It’s time to rethink the country’s population policies and that might mean bringing more foreigners into Korea, said Na Kyung-won, deputy chief of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy and special ambassador for climate change.

"Korean society needs to start thinking more about the role of migration in addressing its demographic issues," Na told the Korea JoongAng Daily and its affiliate JoongAng Ilbo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.

Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, 0.81 as of 2021. Fertility rate refers to the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime.

Na, a former four-term lawmaker and ex-floor leader of the conservative People Power Party, was recently named special envoy for climate change by President Yoon Suk-yeol. She will be one of the top Korean officials attending COP27, or the annual UN climate conference to be held in Egypt from Nov. 8 to 20.

Na calls her two roles -– a one-year stint as climate ambassador and 15-month role on the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy -– matters of “existential consequences.”

To hear more about her juggling of the two roles, the Korea JoongAng Daily and the JoongAng Ilbo sat down with her at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.

The following are edited excerpts of the interview.

Q : Your role as the deputy chief of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, coinciding with your one-year tenure as ambassador for climate change, will be covering a lot of ground. What are your plans?

A : The demographics issue along with climate change are the two most important issues facing our society. I think we can go so far as to say that the existence of the country depends upon how we deal with these issues today. If you recall, we welcomed some 600,000 newborns in 1994. In the early 2000s, the average number of annual births dropped to around 400,000. In recent years, that has dropped to around 260,000. At this rate, some experts say that by 2100, the country’s population would drop to 20 million [from the current 50 million]. Experts say that we have some five to six years left to change this trend, before we’re past the point of no return.

On the front of climate change, we all know what will happen if the earth’s temperature rises above 1.5 degrees Celsius – we will no longer have a safe place to live.

Q : People may know those facts and numbers, but they may be oblivious to the possible consequences of not addressing them. How do we change?

A : Previous policies on boosting the birthrate were all about trying to convince couples to have children. [The government has] spent some 350 trillion won ($245 billion) to 400 trillion won since a relevant law to address the issue was passed in 2005, yet they haven’t been able to reverse the trend. I think the whole approach was wrong from the beginning.

Instead of pressuring couples to have more children, what we need is an environment where couples want to have children. Think about this: what if we guarantee housing or jobs to couples who decide to have children? Or even exempt men who decide to become fathers from mandatory military service? That’s the kind of environment we need to be working on creating.

Korean society also needs to start thinking more about the role of migration in addressing its demographic issues. It’s time to talk about possibilities in earnest.

Q : Although the number of foreigners residing in Korea dropped during the pandemic years, many are coming back, some as tourists and fans of Korean films and music, others with hopes to settle down long-term. The Korea JoongAng Daily has been speaking with some foreign residents about the challenges of settling down in Korea. Many cited visa policies as one issue. Is this something you’re also looking into when you speak of policies to encourage more foreigners to settle down long-term in Korea?

A : Korea might be at the top of the list among countries with a very high sense of negativity towards immigration. There is a need to review our immigration policy in general. A good portion of the population in the rural areas are multi-ethnic families, so the country and its people will have to come around on how they perceive multi-ethnicity. One area that we may begin to work on in our immigration policies would be encouraging more high-skilled foreigners and overseas Koreans to come to Korea and build their lives here.

Q : You will be traveling to Egypt for COP27. What are your objectives?

A : The fact that our government has a strong plan to be carbon neutral [by 2050] will be instrumental in helping Korea play a role in the international community’s climate agenda. Climate change is a problem for both developed and developing countries, and Korea intends to play a role in ensuring cooperation between developed and developing nations.

Q : Korea’s renewable energy policies, especially on nuclear energy, have flip-flopped between different administrations. What's to say that won't happen again with a different administration in the future?

A : If I have to pinpoint one big mistake in the Moon Jae-in government, it would be its policy to phase out nuclear power. It was a decision not based on scientific evidence but on ideology, and one that came with heavy costs. Today, without nuclear energy, renewable energy makes up just 6 percent of our total energy generation. Given that, I think that even if the Democratic Party comes back into power, it would be difficult to return to phasing out nuclear power.

Q : You chaired the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from 2015 to 2016. What are your thoughts on the Yoon government's recent decisions to remain silent on human rights violations in China?

A : I think it is helpful in the long run for Korea to keep to principles when it comes to dealing with issues on universal values like human rights. We may have to bear short-term costs for calling out certain rights issues in China, but we will gain more long-term. Taking an ambiguous stance on human rights will not win Korea any friends.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]