The ratio of "non-married" people in South Korea has risen, and enterprises have also kept pace with the times and changed the way of distributing subsidies.

(AFP)

[Compiled Sun Yuqing/Comprehensive Report] South Korea, like Taiwan, is gradually stepping into the stage of declining birth rate and aging working population, but at the same time, South Korea’s recent trend of “non-marriage” has been more and more recognized by the society, and local companies are rapidly doing business. In response, allowances are issued in comparison with marriage, in order to retain outstanding talents.

"Nikkei Asia" reported on the 26th that South Korea's LG Group's telecom operator "LG U+" began to implement "non-marriage allowance" in January this year. Employees only need to state on the company's announcement board that they do not plan to get married , you can apply for this allowance, the amount is equivalent to 1 month's basic salary and 5 days of paid leave, which is the same as the standard for the distribution of wedding gifts.

However, if employees receiving this allowance decide to marry in the future, they will lose their eligibility for wedding gold and marriage leave.

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"LG U+" stated that this program aims to respect diverse lifestyles. Currently, it is only available to employees who are over 43 years old (inclusive) or who have worked for at least 10 years, but they plan to gradually relax the qualifications. So far, 6 employees have been implemented. submit application.

Two years ago, South Korea's "NH Investment Securities Company" took the lead in launching the "Never Marriage Allowance" program. Employees over 45 years old (inclusive) can receive an allowance of about one month's salary as long as they indicate that they will remain single in the future.

The company said the move was to ensure that married and unmarried employees were treated fairly, with a decency allowance for those who chose to be single.

In addition, "Lotte Department Store" not only provides cash allowances to eligible employees, but also presents indoor plants (and bouquets for those who get married).

According to the 2020 survey by the Statistics Office of the Ministry of Planning and Finance of South Korea, 42.5% of people aged 30 have no partner, an increase of 13.3% from 10 years ago, and 50.8% of men over 30 are single.

The trend is prompting companies to adjust their perks to retain talent.

The report pointed out that at first glance, the "non-marriage subsidy" seems to encourage people to stay single, which runs counter to the government's policy of increasing the birth rate, but some experts believe that supporting the unmarried can actually encourage married people to have children.

Shin Kyung-ah, a professor of sociology at Hallym University, said many working women are hesitant to have a second child for fear of adding to the burden on their colleagues.

If unmarried employees can also receive allowances, married employees will feel more at ease to have more children.

According to a 2016 survey conducted by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 26.7% of respondents believed that they “must” get married at a certain stage, but this figure dropped to 17.6% in last year’s survey, showing that the traditional view of marriage among South Korean people has undergone drastic changes.

The Hankook Research organization recently found that the most common reason for not getting married is the high cost of marriage, followed by the psychological burden of having children, and the third is seeing marriage as an option in life rather than a necessity.

Another factor keeping many South Koreans from marrying is the high cost of housing.

South Korea's unique rental system requires tenants to pay a large "deposit" in advance, usually 1/4 to 1/2 of the property value, and the price in downtown Seoul is even more unattainable, making it difficult for many newlyweds to afford ; If you have a child under your knees, you have to worry about the cost of education to ensure that the child will not fall behind.

An unmarried South Korean man in his 30s was interviewed and said that he would definitely like to date people as long as he doesn't get married, "Marriage makes me feel tied to society, and I don't know if my children will be happy when they grow up. "

Another unmarried woman in her 30s said, "When I think about the family responsibilities I have to bear and how I get along with my husband's family, I can't look at marriage positively."