South Korea Proposes Tax Audit Deferrals for SMEs with Strong Work-Family Balance

SEOUL: South Korea is considering allowing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an "excellent" work-family balance to defer tax audits. This proposal is part of broader efforts to address the nation's persistently low birth rate, as announced by the presidential office. According to Yonhap News Agency, You Hye-mi, senior presidential secretary for low birth rate issues, outlined several new initiatives aimed at reversing the declining birth rate, which fell to a historic low of 0.72 last year. This figure is significantly below the replacement level of 2.1 required to maintain the country's population at 51 million. Among these measures, SMEs achieving the government-designated "excellent" work-family balance could apply to defer tax audits if they are selected as audit targets. In addition to tax deferrals, You announced plans to extend leave for women who experience early-stage pregnancy loss. Currently, the leave period is five days, but the government proposes increasing it to ten days to allo w for better physical and mental recovery. A new leave period for partners of women who suffer miscarriages or stillbirths is also under consideration to support recovery. The government intends to present a detailed plan of these initiatives at an upcoming demographic emergency response meeting. Furthermore, the presidential office will unveil a comprehensive population strategy road map with the establishment of a new ministry of population. This follows President Yoon Suk Yeol's announcement in May of plans to create the ministry to address the low birth rate issue.