Anchor: Government statistics have revealed that it is difficult for South Korean women to return to work after giving birth, especially if their annual income is below 30-million won, or about 26-thousand dollars. The data found that low-income women quit economic activities after considering the high opportunity cost of rearing children in the country.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: The government has found that many newlywed women in South Korea quit their job after having a baby.

It's because entry-level working moms find they would be making less than the cost of child rearing. 

According to Statistics Korea Tuesday, of some 235-thousand first-time newlyweds registered in a year period from late 2013, 130-thousand, or about 55-point-five percent, had at least one baby by November 2015. 

Among them, 38-point-six percent were able to maintain the dual income structure. The figure was higher at 51-point-seven percent for couples with no babies.

The statistics office said pregnancy and childcare pushed working wives to quit their jobs. 

About 14-point-five percent of couples with their first baby decided that the woman quit her job.

Among some nine-thousand women who had a baby and quit working, 87-point-eight percent were making less than 30-million won, or around 26-thousand dollars, annually.

About eleven-point-three percent of those who make between 30- to 50 million won decided to quit while only about point-nine percent left their jobs among high income women making over 50-million won. 

While attributing the trend to the high opportunity costs of raising a child, the statistics agency also pointed to the poor job security and irregular work statuses at lower paying jobs.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.