[Editorial] Premature Infant Fatalities

The birth of a child itself is a magnificent blessing, but parents of premature babies born in the seventh and eighth month of pregnancy have shattered hearts because of their guilt toward the babies. Nonetheless, it is hopeful that medical technology has advanced to the point of performing surgery in infants inside the mother’s womb. However, with a GNP per capita over $13,000 and 25,000 hospitals all across the country, the number of intensive care wards to treat premature babies is so few that reportedly over 1,000 premature babies die every year.

In times of worrying about a low-birth rate catastrophe due to an all-time low rate of 1.08, as well as being the world’s lowest, the fact that three premature infants die every day before knowing their parents’ sadness is quite awful. It is nonsense that the lack of intensive care rooms for premature infants is caused by a poor medical payment system that makes it unprofitable for hospitals to keep such facilities. Did the government keep encouraging birth and improving medical welfare while disregarding such problems?

As part of measures to deal with low birth rates, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced plans to financially assist infertile couples to have therapy, which had so few applicants that funds are ample enough after application due prolonged two times. That is due to limiting applicants to low-income families and the small amount of financial aid. Just looking at this single case, one can see how unrealistic the government’s measures are to cope with the low birth rate.

In such situation, it is reported that in September, the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy plans to hold its 1-year anniversary ceremony at a hotel, which will cost over 300 million won. It seems that they will invite former distinguished guests such as former heads of state and the secretary general of the OECD. How many more child will be born due to this ceremony?

It can be said that the Roh Moo-hyun government’s specialty is to launch committees which spend taxpayers’ money whenever an issue surfaces. The Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy is one of them. After being founded in last September, it announced the draft of the Basic Plan to a Low Birth Rate and Aging Society last month, and it is collecting opinions at present. Even the most basic plan has not passed the draft stage. Having an anniversary party costing 300 million won in the middle of this is just a pity since there might be premature infants dying at this very moment.