Amid rapid transformations in the socioeconomic landscape, societal demands for the support of vulnerable youth have intensified, underscoring the growing need for comprehensive health protection targeted at this population. In particular, reliance on “average” health indicators or implicit assumptions that young people are uniformly healthy risks obscuring the heterogeneous and often cumulative health challenges experienced by youth situated in structurally vulnerable circumstances. Such reductive perspectives hinder the identification of health disparities that remain concealed beneath aggregate measures. In recent years, the need to identify and support diverse subgroups of vulnerable youth―including young caregivers, youth transitioning out of institutional care, and socially isolated or socially withdrawn youth―has become increasingly salient. Against this backdrop, the health sector must respond through strengthened policy initiatives aimed at the systematic identification of vulnerable youth and the provision of preventive, continuous, and needs-responsive health support.
Using data from the 2024 National Family and Fertility Survey, this study conducts an in-depth empirical analysis of marriage and childbirth in Korea by examining individuals’ values, gender roles within couples, life-course regional mobility, reproductive health experiences, childcare costs and government support, and the use of work-family balance programs. It also assesses how recent revisions to the survey enhance the ability to capture diverse family forms and fertility-related behaviors, and discusses implications for improving both family and fertility policies as well as the future design of the National Family and Fertility Survey.
This research monograph provides a comprehensive demographic analysis of Korea’s unprecedented fertility decline by integrating fertility elasticity analysis, decomposition analysis, and expert survey evidence. Focusing on the sharp downturn since 2015, it identifies a structural shift in the drivers of fertility change, underscoring the growing importance of marriage and first births. By offering robust empirical insights into evolving demographic mechanisms, the study contributes to evidence-based debates on reorienting Korea’s fertility and family policy framework in the era of ultra-low fertility.
This study aimed at developing a living population forecasting model using spatial big data and identify related policy challenges. As living population is increasingly utilized to address regional population decline, more deeper understanding of the current situation and forecasting are essential to enhance policy effectiveness. This study developed and applied a model for the living population analysis and forecasting using mobile floating population data from telecommunication companies. Also based on our results, several related policy initiatives were proposed.
This study investigates the current status of postpartum mental health and explores policy directions to enhance maternal well-being within the broader context of Korea’s persistently low fertility. It examines the prevalence and determinants of maternity blues and postpartum depression, analyzes their influence on mothers’ intentions for subsequent childbearing, and identifies key protective and risk factors associated with onset and recovery.
The findings underscore the necessity of developing comprehensive yet individualized postpartum mental health policies that are supported by robust legal and financial frameworks. These policies should promote early intervention and continuous management through an integrated system encompassing mothers, partners, and families, thereby reinforcing the sustainability and equity of maternal mental health support.
This study examines the extent and structural drivers of wealth inequality in South Korea and proposes policy measures to mitigate the widening asset gaps. The analysis reveals that asset disparities are shaped by complex interactions among life-course trajectories, asset composition, debt utilization, and the impact of intergenerational transfers through inheritance. From a life-cycle perspective, a coordinated policy approach is required that integrates social and tax policies, prioritizing support for low-and middle-wealth groups.
The purpose of this study is twofold: first, to improve the Health and Welfare Data Portal into a more intuitive and user-friendly platform; and second, to expand the openness of health and welfare statistical information and data to enhance their usability.
This study examined cases of domestic and international data portals. Regarding the 2025 operations of the Health and Welfare Data Portal, the study proceeded with three main topics: first, the status of portal visits, content usage, and microdata provision was identified; second, a satisfaction survey was conducted with 1,000 users to analyze service satisfaction and improvement needs, such as search accuracy; and third, summarizing the 2025 portal restructuring―including new survey data integration and UI/UX redesign―while proposing future tasks such as continuous content development and quality management.
Amid a global deterioration in democracy-related indicators, concerns over social cohesion have intensified alongside growing claims that political conflict increasingly intersects with generational and gender divides. Against this backdrop, A Study of Assessment of Social Cohesion Status with Policy Implications (XII), now in its twelfth year, builds on the traditionally discussed concept of social cohesion while addressing the need to expand and refine this concept in response to changing political and social conditions. Drawing on survey data and a wide range of data sources, the study seeks to diagnose the current state of social cohesion (Chapter 3).
Chapter 4 aims to identify strategies for enhancing social cohesion by focusing on ways to promote social participation―one of its core components. To this end, data from 2014 to 2025 (excluding 2020) were compiled into pooled cross-sectional datasets, on which logit and regression analyses were conducted. Chapter 5 examines political orientations, value orientations, perceptions of the future, and attitudes toward welfare using the pooled cross-sectional data. Finally, Chapter 6 analyzes attitudes toward democracy and welfare based on the 2025 survey data.
This study examines the need to apply a supportive housing model to the protection system for at-risk children and youth and proposes institutional measures to address the limitations of facility-centered care. It identifies structural protection gaps in the current system, including maladjustment to institutional care, discontinuities during transitions between systems, and the inability to adequately respond to the complex needs of older adolescents. Drawing on analyses of independent-living-oriented protection services in the United Kingdom and the United States, the study presents policy recommendations for delivering supportive housing-based child and youth protection services, focusing on the legal and institutional framework, service delivery system, housing types, professional workforce, and mechanisms for safeguarding rights.
This study conducts an empirical analysis to identify the drivers of the rebound in the number of births in 2024, focusing on key factors such as the base effect following the COVID-19 period, the recent increase in marriage rates, the entry of the echo-boom generation into prime family formation ages alongside rising fertility among women in their 30s, and changes in attitudes toward marriage and fertility. Using objective data, including official birth statistics and a survey of women who gave birth in 2024, the study presents both structural and short-term factors underlying the rebound, examines the potential persistence of the recent rebound, and derives policy implications relevant to future birth trends.
