Billionaire boss of South Korean construction giant is encouraging his workers to have children with a $75,000 bonus

South Korea’s corporate giants are stepping in to help reverse the trend that could see the country’s workforce halve within 50 years.

How much is putting your career aside to have a baby worth? A $75,000 bonus, at the South Korean construction company Booyoung Group.

The Seoul-based firm is handing out 100 million Korean won ($75,000) each time an employee has a baby to help reverse the country’s declining birth rate—and it’s even backdating payments to those who started a family before the policy came into place.

“If the current state of low birth rates persists, we will face a national existential crisis such as workforce decline and a lack of defense manpower necessary for national security,” Lee Joong-keun, the founder and chairman of Booyoung Group, said at a staff meeting, according to multiple reports.

“The low birth rate results from financial burdens and difficulties in balancing work and family life, so we decided to take such a drastic measure.”

As well as awarding a total of 7 billion Korean won ($5.25 million) to employees who collectively had 70 babies since 2021, the construction giant’s “drastic” measures include potentially footing the bill for larger families’ rent.

“If land is provided by the government, for employees with three or more children, we’ll let them choose between a childbirth incentive equivalent for three newborns or a public-housing-like rental home [with no tenant tax burden or maintenance responsibilities],” the 84-year-old billionaire added.

What’s more, the no-strings-attached benefit will be available to both male and female employees at its 2,500-strong workforce, the company confirmed to CNN.

In addition to the childbirth incentive, Booyoung Group is reportedly already trying to ease the financial burden on parents by helping out with college tuition for employees’ children, medical expenses for direct family members, and child allowances.

On top of that, Joong-keun is proposing the state implement a new tax deduction system to waive corporate and income tax so the employees can receive full benefits of the parenting incentives and more companies can follow suit.

South Korea’s falling birth rate is bad for business

South Korea’s government has already subsidized housing for newlyweds, discounted postpartum care for new mothers, and even introduced a “baby payment” of $2,250 for each newborn—but it’s not enough to convince the country’s severely declining population to have kids.

The country currently has the world’s lowest fertility rate, with the number of babies expected per South Korean woman dropping to 0.78 in 2022. Worryingly, that figure is expected to fall further to 0.65 in 2025. (Fortune, but headline rejigged)