South Korea in demographic crisis as many stop having babies

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Many young people in South Korea have chosen not to marry or have children, citing a change of views toward a marriage and family life and uncertainty of their future. The country’s census shows the population shrank for the first time last year. Other advanced countries have similar trends, but South Korea’s demographic crisis is much worse. Some experts say a declining population could cause a massive strain on the country’s economy, the world’s 10th largest, because of a labor shortage and a greater welfare spending on older people. President Yoon Suk Yeol has recently instructed officials to work out more scientific, effective steps to raise the fertility rate to address these challenges.