Couples look at wedding dresses displayed at a wedding fair held at COEX in southeastern Seoul in this 2020 file photo. More than 65 percent of single Koreans say they want to get married, according to a report, suggesting that their views of marriage and having children are becoming more positive. Newsis

More than 65 percent of single Koreans say they want to get married, according to a report suggesting that their views of marriage and having children are becoming more positive.

According to the survey results, released on Monday by the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, 65.4 percent of unmarried respondents aged between 25 and 49 said they either had specific plans for marriage or wanted to get married someday, a rise from 61 percent six months ago.

Most notably, 60 percent of women in their 30s agreed with the statement, compared with 48.4 percent in the previous research.

More positive perceptions about having children were also observed. More than 68 percent of all people surveyed said they would need children, an increase from 61.1 percent.

This change in perception was also found in women in their 20s — the group most skeptical about having kids, according to the previous poll. More than 48.1 percent of them said they would need children, a jump from 34.4 percent.

Such changes in attitude were also observed among married people who do not have children. Asked whether they have any intention of having children, 50.7 percent of them agreed, an increase from 42.4 percent.

These results come at a time when the government is intensifying efforts to overcome the country's low birthrate crisis. The country's total fertility rate sank to the world's lowest at 0.72 in 2023.

Thanks to growing optimism about having children and new policies adopted in recent years to boost the rate, that figure is estimated to increase this year to 0.74 — after falling for eight consecutive years since 2016.

Asked to choose the most urgent task to be done to address the birthrate crisis, more than 88 percent of all people surveyed said the government should concentrate on making it easier for workers to take parental leave without any pressure.

Last week, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced its plan to help more couples who may feel constrained to have children due to financial challenges or other issues.

One of the measures is to require employers to respond to requests for parental leave within 14 days. If the employer does not respond in that period, the employee would be allowed to assume that it is accepted and take up to 18 months of leave.

The maximum allowance for parents taking child care leave will also increase in 2025 to 2.5 million won ($1,850) per month — for the first three months of their leave — from the current 1.5 million won.