Seoul to explore supporting children born outside of marriage

SEOUL - The South Korean government will explore measures to bolster support for children born to unmarried parents, the presidential office said on Nov 28.

The issue has drawn heightened attention following the news that actor Jung Woo-sung and model Moon Ga-bi, announced that they plan to raise their child without marrying each other.

“Ultimately, I believe there are aspects such as discrimination in society and issues that cannot be fully addressed by existing policies,” a senior presidential official said on condition of anonymity when asked whether the Yoon Suk Yeol government plans to introduce measures addressing the issue of children born to unmarried parents as part of its overarching strategy to tackle the low birth rate.

“We need to further examine how we can provide support to ensure that every life can grow up healthily and happily without discrimination.”

The senior official noted that the South Korean government has established child-focused support policies, such as child allowances, which are applied regardless of the marital status of the parents.

“The government maintains a consistent philosophy of actively supporting and protecting every child born, regardless of the circumstances. We will address any gaps to put this philosophy into practice,” the official added.

Children born outside of marriage made up 4.7 per cent of all births in 2023, totalling 10,900 – the highest number recorded since Statistics Korea began compiling such data in 1981, according to the agency’s 2023 Birth Statistics report.

The share of births to unmarried parents has rapidly increased in recent years by crossing the 2 per cent threshold for the first time in 2018 at 2.2 per cent, climbing to 3.9 per cent in 2022, and exceeding 4 per cent for the first time in 2023. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK