If you want to know what President Lee Jae Myung is thinking about solving the low birthrate problem, listen to what the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee (the Committee) says. The Committee is a cross-ministerial low-birthrate “think tank” chaired by the president. Under the Lee Jae Myung administration, the Committee is even more distinctive. Pursuant to the Basic Act on Population Strategy, this coming September it will change its name to the “Population Strategy Committee” and is slated to release the “First Basic Plan for Population Strategy.”

On the 8th, a media briefing by the Committee was held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul. It offered a glimpse into the Lee Jae Myung government’s policy vision on low birthrate and aging. Representing the Committee, Vice Chair Kim Jin-oh presented his policy views for about an hour and a half.

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Compared to the pointed questions, the answers were perplexing. Asked about “measures for young people and young couples who live under jeonse or monthly rent or are without a home,” Vice Chair Kim began by saying it might be good if Seoul’s youth jeonse/monthly rent support program were expanded nationwide, then added, “If someone is living under jeonse or monthly rent with a child, could the landlord, rather than the state or a local government, cut the cost a bit, in the spirit of community?” He went on, “From what I see, the government is getting exhausted. Under the previous administration, there was no tax revenue,” and said, “Why do such ‘Good Samaritan’ types (who would lower jeonse or monthly rents) not appear in our country? This is something the media ought to raise at least once.”

To the question that “there seem to be parts where the government’s youth support measures conflict with family support,” what came back was a non sequitur. Vice Chair Kim said, “Whether it is a one-person household or a two-person household, I think we should support equally when a family has a child and raises the child,” and added, “If a teenager or someone in their early twenties falls in love and becomes pregnant but is afraid of the world and of being pointed at, giving birth to a baby in a restroom must not happen.” He continued, “I earnestly hope for a reality in which the fruit of teenagers’ love can appear as a baby,” and said, “They will, 20 to 30 years from now, bear the duty of national defense. They will fulfill the four duties set out in the Constitution, such as the duties of paying taxes and of education. Moreover, they will pay National Pension, health insurance premiums, and employment insurance premiums.”

One cannot say that Vice Chair Kim’s thinking is “wrong.” However, at least for remarks made from a position that effectively serves as the president’s “mouth” on low-birthrate issues, they are too abstract and personal, and far removed from the perspective of young people. Vice Chair Kim said, “I hope to build a cradle-to-grave care system, name it ‘K-Care,’ and even try exporting that platform to other countries.” He thereby expressed a desire to craft a care system and low-birthrate measures suited to Korea’s circumstances. Yet with the Committee’s current awareness, it is doubtful whether it can produce policies that Koreans would accept, let alone export them.