Yoon sends congratulatory gift, letter to parents of newborn quintuplets

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol sent a congratulatory gift and letter to the parents of newborn quintuplets Sunday, his office said.

The quintuplets -- two girls and three boys -- were born Friday to parents who work in public education in Dongducheon, 39 kilometers north of Seoul.

"It is everyone's joy that a set of quintuplets, which are rare globally, were born healthy in our country," Yoon wrote in the letter delivered by his senior secretary for low birth rate issues, You Hye-mi, to the father, Kim Jun-young, at a hospital in Seoul. "I will work to ensure Mom, Dad, and the five children can jointly create a happy future."

The gift consisted of clothes in five different colors and seaweed, an ingredient often used to make soup for mothers who have just given birth.

The couple and their five children will receive various forms of government support, including financial assistance for the household and medical expenses, additional scholarships and interest exemption for tuition loans.

Yoon has said South Korea is in a "demographic national emergency" due to its declining population.

South Korea's total fertility rate, or the average number of children expected to be born to a woman over her lifetime, reached a record low of 0.72 in 2023.

The figure is far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

hague@yna.co.kr
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