出生率太低 韓國政府急推措施刺激生育

South Korea's government has announced a host of measures to encourage people to make more babies, as concerns grow over the country's stubbornly low birth rate.

由於多年以來持續的低出生率，近日，韓國政府公佈了一系列舉措以鼓勵人們多生育。

Couples seeking fertility treatment will get state financial support regardless of their income level from September, the Korea Herald reports.

據韓國先驅報報道，自9月起，將不孕治療的醫療補助對象擴至所有收入階層。

The help is currently limited to lower-income couples, but the change means everyone will now be eligible for at least 1m won ($900) per session, with the lowest earners receiving 2.4m won.

這項措施目前只針對低收入人羣，不過本次改變意味着每個人都有資格享受每季至少100萬韓元（約900美元）的補貼。收入最低的人補貼爲240萬韓元。

South Korea's birth rate has plummeted since the 1960s, with little change in recent years despite billions of dollars in government spending. Health Minister Chung Chin-youb says "all possible efforts" must be made to reverse the decline.

自上世紀60年代起，韓國生育率就開始大幅下降，儘管政府已開支數十億以刺激生育，近年來的效果卻微乎其微。衛生部長鄭鎮燁表示，將用盡所有可能的措施以扭轉這一下滑的情況。

Other measures announced include a guarantee of three days unpaid leave for those receiving fertility treatment, effective from July next year, and increased paternity leave payments for fathers welcoming a second child.

其他公佈的措施還包括自明年7月起生效的進行不孕治療的三天無薪假，而對於生育二胎的夫妻，將提高男職工的陪產假工資。

Households with three or more children will also be given priority admission to public childcare facilities, the paper says.

該報道稱，子女數在3名以上的家庭在申請入學公辦托兒機構時將享有優先權等。

In the first five months of 2016, births were down by 5.3% compared to the same period last year, the Korea Times reports.

據韓國時報報道，2016年的前5個月的生育率比去年同期下降了5.3%。

Critics of the government's approach say the problem isn't money but rather South Korea's corporate culture, where employees are often expected to work long hours and don't feel they can take time off for childcare.

針對政府措施的批評人士指出，這並非是錢的問題，而是韓國的企業文化造成，員工通常都得加班，所以他們抽不出時間來照顧孩子。