Seoul banks on remote work, new apartments to raise birthrate

Companies in Seoul will be incentivized to adopt remote working policies and offer benefits for parents. City-run apartment buildings with child care facilities will also appear in the capital by 2028.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon watches kids play in a city-run indoor playground in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 22, 2023. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Companies in Seoul will be incentivized to adopt remote working policies and offer benefits for parents. City-run apartment buildings with child care facilities will also appear in the capital by 2028.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday unveiled policies to address the city’s staggeringly low fertility rate, which was 0.59 last year, the lowest figure nationwide.

It said an increased budget of 1.8 trillion won ($1.3 billion) will be injected into the project, up from last year's 1.5 trillion won.

The latest scheme, which includes 52 policies, is an expansion of measures for parents announced by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in 2022.

One of the new measures announced includes financially subsidizing child care services for a family’s eldest child when a second child is born. The service invites a caregiver home to look after children at or below the age of 12.

More mothers in the capital will be subsidized for postpartum care as the requirement to have lived in the city for more than six months will be scrapped. Starting in April, the city government will also operate child care facilities for working parents.

The pilot project of foreign nannies will likely begin in the first half of the year, at 100 households for six months, as soon as the city government talks with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the countries that will send their workforce to the capital for the scheme.

The city government plans to construct apartment buildings that house multiple facilities, including nurseries and indoor playgrounds. These buildings will likely be found in Yeongdeungpo District in western Seoul and Geumcheon District in southwestern Seoul. The city plans to break ground in 2026 with the aim of letting residents move in from 2028.

The city government will also select small and midsize companies that pursue such measures and incentivize them to adopt remote work and benefits for future parents. The measure is scheduled to begin in May.

The latest project also takes into account anticipated newlyweds.

More venues will be added to the public facilities where couples can hold their weddings. Couples can also book venues a year before their wedding day, up from the current six months.

The 2-million-won voucher offered to every baby born in the city will be increased to 3 million from the second child.

Twins born starting this year will be automatically registered with insurance that covers up to 30 million won in medical expenses, including visits to the emergency room.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]