While many believe the high cost of raising children is the main barrier to having a baby in South Korea, new government data shows that housing stability is a stronger factor than income in couples' decisions to become parents.

Parents with their young daughter (123rf)
Parents with their young daughter (123rf)

Data released Friday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics showed that, among couples married for five years or less, 56.6 percent of those who owned a home went on to have children, compared to 47.2 percent among those who did not. Homeowners also had more children on average, 0.67 in those five years, compared with 0.56 among renters.

The influence of income was much more complex.

Couples making a combined 100 million won ($67,874) or more per year were less likely to have children (45.9 percent) than those earning under 10 million won (54.3 percent). The highest rate was found among those with an annual combined income of 10-30 million won (59.3 percent), indicating that higher income does not automatically lead to higher fertility.

The data also showed that financial pressures around housing continue to intensify among the newlyweds.

Couples with mortgages carried a median outstanding balance of 179 million won, up 5 percent from a year earlier, and homeowning couples held 1.6 times more debt than renters. Despite an average combined annual income of 76.3 million won, only 35.8 percent of first-year couples owned a home.

Almost 60 percent of couples had two incomes in 2024, and these couples were less likely to have children (49.1 percent) than single-income couples (55.2 percent).

Meanwhile, the number of couples married for five years or less in South Korea came in at 952,000 as of November 2024, marking the ninth consecutive annual decline.


milaya@heraldcorp.com