Issue The plan faults past population policy for chasing short-term fertility gains instead of structural reform

Summary

The plan offers a critical assessment of earlier population policy in Korea. It argues that policy concentrated on raising the fertility rate in the short term. As a result, in the plan's view, it neither tackled the root causes of the population problem nor carried out the institutional reforms needed to adapt to a changing population structure. The plan therefore calls for comprehensive, government-wide measures to respond effectively to the population crisis and to sustain growth. This judgement about past policy is the government's own assessment and frames the broader three-track strategy it proposes.