South Korea's Booyoung Group pays 3.6 billion won in birth incentives in 2025

SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) - South Korea's Booyoung Group paid 3.6 billion won ($2.46 million) in birth incentives last year to employees who had children, as part of a program offering 100 million won for each newborn.

The company said payments were made for 36 children born to employees last year. Total payouts rose about 29 percent from 2.8 billion won a year earlier.

Booyoung said that cases involving multiple births have increased since the program began in 2024. Eleven employees received a combined 200 million won last year after having twins or multiple children. Total payments since the program’s launch have reached 13.4 billion won.

Chairman Lee Joong-keun introduced the initiative, saying companies should help address South Korea’s low birthrate. In its first year, the company paid 7 billion won, including incentives covering births between 2021 and 2023 before the program was formally introduced.

“In a low-birth crisis that threatens the nation’s future, our program, launched with the belief that companies should act as catalysts, is producing visible results,” Lee said at a company event on Thursday.

* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.