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As birthrates keep dropping across several Asian countries, South Korean companies have begun incentivising their employees to have children by offering employees with children a $75,000 (R1.4 million) bonus.

Two firms, Booyoung Group and Ssangbangwool, announced their birth programmes this month as stats revealed that the fertility rate in South Korea was 0.78 in 2022, far lower than the 2.1 it needs to maintain its population.

Ssangbangwool, an underwear company, said that it would give workers $22,400 (R429,000) for their first child, another $22,400 for a second child, and $30,000 (R575,000) for their third, per The Korea Herald.

A company spokesperson said “A low birth rate is an important task for our society to overcome. The company will take responsibility and put all-out efforts to help the country increase the fertility rate.”

The announcement comes after Booyoung Group, a construction firm based in Seoul, earlier this month declared it would give a $75,000 per-child bonus to employees who have babies. The company extended the bonus to employees who have had children since 2021. The company’s employees have collectively had at least 70 children since 2021, so the firm is on the hook to disburse $5.25 million (R99 million) in cash to its workers.

According to Business Insider, both men and women are eligible to get the incentive.

South Korea’s ageing and more imbalanced population, like that of China and Japan, may result in an increase in retired older people who require medical care as the country’s supply of younger workers dwindles.

According to the most recent government figures, the national fertility rate was 0.78 in 2022, while the birth rate in Seoul, which accounts for one-fifth of the country’s population, was even lower at 0.59. The country needs a fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain its current population.