South Korean babies are seen during a dance contest at a Seoul hotel, last year. South Korea's health ministry, which is charged with boosting the nation's low birthrate, is turning off the lights in its offices once a month to encourage staff to go home early and make more babies.(Agencies)

韩国颁布熄灯令 激励职员多“造人”
S.Korea orders lights out to boost birthrate
South Korea's health ministry, which is charged with boosting the nation's low birthrate, is turning off the lights in its offices once a month to encourage staff to go home early and make more babies.

The ministry said in a statement Wednesday the switches will be flicked at 7.30 pm every third Wednesday in the month to "help staff get dedicated to childbirth and upbringing".

Those with urgent duties will be exempt from the switch-off.

"Going home early may have no direct link to having more kids, but you cannot just completely rule out a possible link between them," Choi Jin-Sun, who is in charge of the project at the ministry, told reporters.

Low birthrate is a pressing issue in this fast-ageing society.

South Korea's birthrate -- the average number of babies born during a woman's lifetime -- remained near the world's lowest at 1.19 in 2008 and there are fears the population will begin shrinking within a decade.

"It won't be too long before our children are burdened with supporting the elderly," Health Minister Jeon Jae-Hee told the Korea Times newspaper.

"Korea may lose out in the global economic competition due to a lack of manpower. It is actually the most urgent and important issue the country is facing."

Married staff at the ministry are not doing their bit, with an average of 1.63 children compared to the average of 1.82 among all civil servants. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 2.0 in two years.

The ministry has various other incentives, including cash gifts, for staff who produce more than two babies. Some local governments also run schemes or even matchmaking services to boost the birthrate.

(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.)

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(Agencies)
 负责提高全国出生率的韩国卫生部日前宣布该部办公楼每月提前熄灯一晚，以鼓励职员提早回家“造人”。

韩国卫生部于本周三发表声明称，今后该部办公室将于每月第三个星期三的晚上七点半准时熄灯，以让“员工有更多的时间和精力去生儿育女”。

不过有紧急公务在身的人可以例外。

卫生部负责这一项目的崔珍善在接受记者采访时说：“早点回家可能和多生孩子没有直接关系，但也不是完全没有关系。”

韩国社会老龄化迅速，低出生率是当下的一个紧迫问题。

韩国2008年的出生率（即一名女性一生平均所生育的孩子数量）为1.19，接近世界最低水平，有人担心韩国人口在十年之内会开始萎缩。

卫生部部长全在熙接受《韩国时报》采访时说：“用不了多久，我们的孩子就要承担起赡养老人的重担。”

“劳动力的缺乏会使韩国无法应对世界经济竞争。这实际上是目前韩国所面临的最紧迫、最重要的问题。”

卫生部中的已婚职员没有尽到“本分”，相对于所有公务员1.82的平均生育率，该部职员的平均生育率仅为1.63。卫生部计划在两年内将这一数字提高到2.0。

韩国卫生部还推出了其他一些激励措施，包括对生育两个以上子女的职员给予现金奖励。一些地方政府也推出刺激计划甚至提供婚姻介绍服务来提高生育率。