한국 저출생 대응 정책 패러다임에 대한 비판적 검토 — 인구 패러다임을 넘어 인권 패러다임으로 —

As South Korea’s ultra-low birthrate deepens—reaching 0.65 births per woman—policy attention is increasingly focused on how to reverse the declining fertility trend. In 2024, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration announced new measures aimed at reversing this trend, reinstating explicit fertility targets that had been abandoned during the Moon Jae-in administration. The government now aims to raise the fertility rate back to at least 1.0. However, without a coherent policy framework and substantive support to realize this goal, achieving such a target becomes highly unlikely. This study argues that mechanistic policies aimed solely at increasing the birthrate risk infringing on reproductive rights and may, in fact, be inherently against human rights. Even if the fertility rate were to rise by chance under such a flawed paradigm, it would still be problematic. Recent data show that fertility in Korea is positively correlated with income, and the Yoon administration’s low birthrate policies primarily target a narrow demographic—namely, middle-class or higher, full-time workers in so-called “normal” family structures. As such, Korea’s welfare paradigm for addressing low birthrates risks reinforcing a welfare system that disproportionately benefits the well-off while neglecting the needs of low-income and marginalized groups. This paper critically reflects on the limitations embedded in Korea’s current low birthrate policies and calls for a paradigm shift—from a population-centered approach to one grounded in human rights.