SEOUL: Nearly 7 in 10 married South Korean women have experienced career interruptions due to pregnancy and child-rearing, data showed on Tuesday.
The number of married women aged 15-54 who left the workforce reached 1.22 million in the first half of this year, according to the data from Statistics Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.
This year's figure represents a decrease of 133, 000, partly due to a reduction in the total married female population within the age group, the agency said.
The total number of married women in the country came to 7.65 million, down some 290, 000 from a year earlier, the data showed.
Among the women who left their jobs, 41.1 per cent cited child-rearing as their primary reason, the data showed. Another 24.9 per cent stopped working upon marriage, while 24.4 per cent attributed their decision to pregnancy and childbirth.
The data showed that 41.2 per cent of married women experienced career interruptions lasting more than 10 years, followed by 22.8 per cent whose interruptions lasted between five and 10 years.
South Korea has been grappling with a persistent decline in its birth rate, as an increasing number of young people are choosing to delay or avoid marriage and parenthood.
In 2023, the country's total fertility rate -- indicating the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime -- dropped to 0.72, marking the lowest level since 1970, according to earlier data from Statistics Korea.
To encourage marriage and improve the fertility rate, the government has expanded various benefits and support for child care, though experts say these measures have not yet been effective.