REJUVENATING KOREA: POLICIES FOR

A CHANGING SOCIETY

Stefano Scarpetta

Director

OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour, and Social Affairs

MOHW-PCASPP-OECD Joint Conference on Population28 October 2019 | Seoul

http://oe.cd/rejuvenating-korea

@OECD_SOCIAL

2

3

1Progress in Korean family policy

Remaining policy challenges in Korea

The impact of demographic change in Korea

4 Pathways for further policy reform

Korea’s fertility rate is the lowest in the OECD by

some distance

Notes: The total fertility rate is defined as the average number of children born per woman over a lifetime given current age-specific fertility rates and assuming no female mortality during reproductive years. 2018 data for Korea are provisional.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en, based on the OECD Family Database, http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm

Total fertility rates, 1960-2017

3

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

TFR

Korea OECD average

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

TFR

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

Years

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017

Years

Korea OECD-22 average

The average age of mothers at first birth in Korea is

now close to 32

Notes: Data for the United Kingdom refer to England & Wales only. Data for Canada refer to 2016.Source: OECD Family Database, http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm

Mean age of mothers at first birth, 1991-2017

4

Couple-with-children households will soon make up

only 16% of Korean households

Note: "Other" includes couple households with parents, couple households with parents and children, grandparent(s) and grandchild(ren) households, adults living with their adult brothers, adult sisters, or other relatives, other one-, two- or three generation households, and non-relative multi-person households. Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Projected distribution of households by household type, Korea, 2020-2045

5

0

20

40

60

80

100

% Couple-with-children households Single-parent households Couple households Single-person households Other

The Korean labour force is set to shrink by 2.5 million

workers over the next couple of decades

Notes: Projections based on national population projections and estimated labour force participation rates (15-74) based on current (2007-16) rates of labour market entry and exit, by gender and five-year age-groups.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Projected total labour force size (1000s), 15- to 74-year-olds, Korea, 2016-2040

6

20000

21000

22000

23000

24000

25000

26000

27000

28000

29000

30000

2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036 2038 2040

Labour force size (1000s)

2

3

1Progress in Korean family policy

Remaining policy challenges in Korea

The impact of demographic change in Korea

4 Pathways for further policy reform

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

% Cash Services Tax-breaks for families

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016

% Korea OECD Average

Public spending on families in Korea has grown

rapidly since the mid-2000s

Notes: Public spending accounted for here concerns public support that is exclusively for families (e.g. child payments and allowances, parental leave benefits and childcare support), only. Spending in other social policy areas such as health and housing support also assists families, but not exclusively, and is not included here. The data in Panel A cover public expenditure on family cash and in-kind benefits only, and do not include spending on tax breaks for families. Data for the Netherlands and New Zealand refer to 2011, and for Poland to 2014. For Lithuania, data on tax breaks towards families are not available. Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en; OECD Social Expenditure Database, https://www.oecd.org/social/expenditure.htm.

Public spending on family cash and in-kind benefits, as

% of GDP, 1990-2017

8

Public spending on family cash and in-kind benefits

and tax breaks for families, as % of GDP, 2015

Paid leave entitlements in Korea are comparatively

long, especially for fathers

Notes: Data refer to paid leave entitlements in place as of April 2018 and do not reflect entitlements introduced or amended after April 2018. Data reflect statutory entitlements provided at the national or federal level only. They do not include regional variations or additional/alternative entitlements provided by states/provinces or local governments (e.g. Quebec in Canada, or California in the United States), or any employer-provided benefits that are paid beyond the statutory minimum duration. Payment rates during paid leave differ across countries.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Paid maternity leave and paid parental leave available to mothers, and paid paternity leave

and paid parental leave reserved for fathers, weeks, 2018

9

Estonia

Slovak Republic

Finland

Norway

Korea

Czech Republic

Germany

Japan

Sweden

OECD average

Canada

Denmark

Italy

France

United Kingdom

Portugal

Iceland

Australia

Turkey

M exico

United States

Panel B. Fathers-onlyPanel A. Available to mothers

020406080100120140160180

Paid maternity leavePaid parental and home care leave (available to mothers)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Paid paternity leave

Paid parental and home care leave (fathers-only)

Korea’s childcare enrolment rate now far exceeds the

OECD average

Notes: For 0- to 2-year-olds: Data generally include children enrolled in early childhood education services (ISCED 2011 level 0) and other registered ECEC services (ECEC services outside the scope of ISCED 0, because they are not in adherence with all ISCED-2011), but exact definitions differ across countries. Data for the United States refer to 2011, for Switzerland and Malta to 2014, and for Japan and Argentina to 2015. For 3- to 5-year-olds: Data include children enrolled in early childhood education and care (ISCED 2011 level 0) and primary education (ISCED 2011 level 1). Data for South Africa refer to 2015. See OECD Family Database (http://www.oecd.org/els/family/database.htm) Indicator PF3.2 for more detail.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Percent of 0- to 2-year-olds enrolled in ECEC-services, and percent of 3- to 5-year-olds

enrolled in ECEC or primary education, 2016 or latest year available

10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% 0- to 2-year-olds 3- to 5-year-olds

2

3

1Progress in Korean family policy

Remaining policy challenges in Korea

The impact of demographic change in Korea

4 Pathways for further policy reform

Koreans work some of the longest hours in the OECD

Note: Data for Turkey refer to 2015.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Average annual hours actually worked per worker, total employment, all ages, OECD

countries, 2018

12

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Hours

Part-time work remains comparatively rare in Korea

Note: Part-time employment is defined as usual weekly working hours of less than 30 hours per week in the main job. Data for Brazil refer to 2015. For the United States, data refer to dependent employees only. For Australia, Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Turkey, data refer to usual weekly working hours in all jobs. For Japan and Korea, data refer to actual weekly working hours in all jobs.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Part-time employment as a percentage of total employment, by sex, all ages, 2017

13

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

%Women Men

Many Korean women still leave paid work upon

motherhood

Note: "OECD countries" refers to the weighted average across all OECD member countries.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en.

Employment rates by sex and five-year age group, Korea and average across OECD

countries, 2018

14

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% Korea

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

% OECD countries

Attitudes towards women’s roles in society have

changed, but gender roles are not yet viewed as equal

Note: Population aged 13 and over.Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en, based on results from the Korea Social Survey, http://kosis.kr/eng/.

Distribution of responses to the question "How do you think housework should be shared?",

total population, Korea, 2008-2018

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

% Entirely by the wife Mostly by the wife By both parenters equally Mostly by the husband Entirely by the husband

Korean children spend more time studying than

children in other OECD countries

Notes: Time spent studying in regular lessons refers to total learning time in all school subjects, based on students' self-reports. Time spent studying after school refers to time spent learning in addition to the required school schedule, including homework, additional instruction and private study, again based on students' self-reports. B-S-J-G (China) refers to Beijing-Shanghai-Jiangsu-Guangdong (China).Source: OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en, based on results from PISA 2015, http://www.oecd.org/pisa/

Average time spent studying per week in regular lessons and after school, 15-year-old

students, OECD and key partner countries, 2015

16

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Hours per week

After-school study Regular lessons

Household spending on private education has

increased

Note: Household private education expenditure per month includes private supplementary education for students in secondary education provided in hakwon. OECD (2019), Rejuvenating Korea: Policies for a Changing Society, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c5eed747-en, Korea Household Income and Expenditure Survey, http://kosis.kr.

Private education spending as a proportion of household consumption spending, Korea, 1982-

2016

17

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

1982 1985 1990 1995 2000 2003 2005 2010 2015 2016

2

3

1Progress in Korean family policy

Remaining policy challenges in Korea

The impact of demographic change in Korea

4 Pathways for further policy reform

Pathways for further policy reform: Family policy

Promote flexible work arrangements• Expand opportunities for regular employees to work part-time, with pay reduced proportionally• Enforce existing rights to flexible start and finish times, to opportunities to spread working hours across

weeks or months, and to work from home, where possible/appropriate

19

Improve take-up of parental leave• Increase parental leave benefit payment rates• Increase flexibility, including through the option to take leave for a shorter period at a higher payment rate• Sustain efforts to promote a “leave-friendly” workplace culture

Pathways for further policy reform: Family policy

Promote flexible work arrangements• Expand opportunities for regular employees to work part-time, with pay reduced proportionally• Enforce existing rights to flexible start and finish times, to opportunities to spread working hours across

weeks or months, and to work from home, where possible/appropriate

20

Improve take-up of parental leave• Increase parental leave benefit payment rates• Increase flexibility, including through the option to take leave for a shorter period at a higher payment rate• Sustain efforts to promote a “leave-friendly” workplace culture

Pathways for further policy reform: Family policy

Promote flexible work arrangements• Expand opportunities for regular employees to work part-time, with pay reduced proportionally• Enforce existing rights to flexible start and finish times, to opportunities to spread working hours across

weeks or months, and to work from home, where possible/appropriate

Further improve family cash supports• Consider extending the new child allowance to all children until adulthood • And/or increase the generosity of the child care tax credit

21

Pathways for further policy reform: Other areas

Sustain efforts to tackle the long hours and male-dominated workplace culture• Monitor the recently introduced maximum working hours legislation• Strengthen measures to tackle discrimination and promote gender equality at work

22

Pathways for further policy reform: Other areas

Sustain efforts to tackle the long hours and male-dominated workplace culture• Monitor the recently introduced maximum working hours legislation• Strengthen measures to tackle discrimination and promote gender equality at work

Reduce the costs (in time and money) of child education• Increase investment in public schooling to reduce the need for private education• Continue expanding out-of-school-hours services, but ensure these services put children and their well-

being at the centre

23

Pathways for further policy reform: Other areas

Sustain efforts to tackle the long hours and male-dominated workplace culture• Monitor the recently introduced maximum working hours legislation• Strengthen measures to tackle discrimination and promote gender equality at work

Reduce the costs (in time and money) of child education• Increase investment in public schooling to reduce the need for private education• Continue expanding out-of-school-hours services, but ensure these services put children and their well-

being at the centre

Provide support towards other costs associated with raising children, such as housing • Extend support to help young people and families looking to buy or rent accommodation

24

Thank you

Email me Stefano.SCARPETTA@oecd.org

@OECD_social; @stescarpettaFollow us on Twitter

http://oe.cd/rejuvenating-koreaVisit our website

25