One in 5 twenty-somethings may be confined to life of singlehood: study

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- One in five people in their early 20s in South Korea may never get to meet their Mr. or Mrs. Right should the current trend of marriage avoidance continue, a study showed Tuesday. Lee Sang-rim, the lead author of the study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said that about 24 percent of men and 19 percent of women aged 20 in 2010 were expected to remain single until 45 -- practically a lifetime of singledom given that chances of getting married past that age are slim. The average age at first marriage for both men and women soared by more than three years to around 32 and 29, respectively, in the 15 years ending last year, the study funded by the government said. Lee cautioned that the low marriage rate among young South Koreans could directly translate into low birth rates in the country since only 2 percent of South Korean couples have children born out of wedlock. Lee suggested that the government should do more to provide incentives to young people to get married early. Currently, many of the programs aimed at raising the nation's birth rate are catered toward already married couples, while singles or newly-weds are often excluded from these benefits. "To lower the age at first marriage, the government should institute reforms to change the current policies that are centered around already married couples," the report said. sojungko@yna.co.kr (END)