SPOTLIGHT 24/01/15 South Korea mulls ‘cohabitation system’ to boost birth rate

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South Korea mulls ‘cohabitation system’ to boost birth rate

The system is based on the civil solidarity pact introduced in France in 1999, says a government official

A South Korean woman looks after a baby in this file image. The East Asian nation is facing demographic crisis fuelled by falling birth rates. (Photo: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

By UCA News reporter

Published: January 16, 2024 09:34 AM GMT

The South Korean government is considering allowing ‘registered cohabitation marriages’ in a bid to combat a demographic crisis fueled by record-low birth rates and rising elderly population, says a report.

The government is considering a “cohabitation system” to tackle low birth rates, said Kim Young-mi, vice chairman of the National Committee on Aging and Low Birth Rate, Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC) reported on Jan. 15.

Kim pointed out that the system is based on the French pacte civil de solidarité (civil solidarity pact – PACS).

The civil solidarity pact is a civil union contract entered into by two persons over the age of 18, of different sexes or the same sex, to structure their lives together.

This contract is governed by the French Civil Code.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in his 2024 New Year address highlighted the need for a countermeasure to address the declining birth rates in the nation.

"We need a different approach to the causes and countermeasures of the declining birth rate in our country,” Yoon had said.

The cohabitation system introduced in France in 1999 has been credited with increasing the birth rate, even though there are no specific statistics available for the same, CPBC reported.

However, the perception of young people in their 20s and 30s on the concept of cohabitation and childbirth is varying, studies found.

Young people in their 20s and 30s had a positive outlook towards the concept of cohabitation, however, more than half of them opposed the idea of having children after cohabitation.  

Live births in South Korea saw a decline of 4.3 percent from 260,562 in 2021 to 249,186 in 2022, according to the latest data published by Statistics Korea.

The state-run agency had also reported that the total fertility rate in the country also declined to a record low of 0.7 in the second quarter of 2023.

There were 56,087 newborn babies in the second quarter of 2023, a drop of 6.8 percent in the same period last year.

About 18.4 percent of South Korea’s estimated 51.5 million population are aged 65 and above, the agency reported.

The Catholic Church in Korea has always opposed the idea of cohabitation without being married sacramentally.

Pro-family groups and the Church have welcomed the government's move to end discrimination against out-of-wedlock unions and children but have expressed concerns as the plan seems to legally recognize such unions.

The verification of unmarried couples' motives and qualifications for childbirth is also a cause for concern, and the values of marriage, family, and procreation can be undermined, CPBC reported.