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Topics: World News, Money
Gerrard Kaonga
A billionaire construction company head has introduced a $75,000 bonus scheme in hopes of addressing a major population problem in South Korea.
Declining birth rates for many countries will prove to be a big issue in the future or is one already. But billionaire Lee Joong-Keun is set to address the issue head on.
The CEO of the Booyoung Group construction firm is likely going to be a lot more popular now with his new policy implemented.
Joong-Keun is offering employees a bonus of $75,942.00 if they choose to have a baby, CNN reports.
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You would think those who had a baby before the policy was introduced would be kicking themselves, but according to reports, the founder and chairman of the group is also aying out to those who started a family before the policy was put in place.
He explained that he brought in the policy in order to tackle the issue of a declining birthrate in South Korea.
In many countries across the world, people are having children later in life or not at all, with many simply stating they can’t afford to have a child.
“If the current state of low birth rates persists, we will face a national existential crisis such as workforce decline and a lack of defence manpower necessary for national security," he said.
"The low birth-rate results from financial burdens and difficulties in balancing work and family life, so we decided to take such a drastic measure.
"If land is provided by the government, for employees with three or more children, we'll let them choose between a childbirth incentive equivalent for three newborns or a public housing-like rental home [with no tenant tax burden or maintenance responsibilities]."
The very low birthrate is well below that of other Asian countries like North Korea and Japan. It currently sits at 0.84 births per woman.
The policy will be available to both men and women who work for his 2,500 people workforce.
If this wasn’t good enough, Joong-Keun is also making moves to ease the financial burden on parents when they do have children.
He has done this by paying for some employees’ children’s college tuition as well as medical expenses.
But the man who just doesn’t stop giving is also looking at changing taxes in South Korea.
He is proposing the state implements a new tax deduction system corporate and income tax so the employees can receive full benefits of the parenting incentives.
Booyoung Group isn't the only company in South Korea to offer an incentive to employees having children.
The Korea Herald reports that Ssangbangwool, an underwear company, has said it would give workers $22,400 for their first child, another $22,400 for a second child, and $30,000 for their third.