Paradox of depopulation (TheNews/15 Sep 2024)

The News opinion piece highlights the paradox facing South Korea and other advanced economies: that economic success is making it harder to sustain the replacement birth rate, leading to depopulation. This decline poses economic challenges, such as increased social security costs and a shrinking labor force. Compared to Western countries however, cultural factors in South Korea limit the use of immigration to mitigate these trends, complicating efforts to address the demographic crisis.