In South Korea, low fertility rate has become a big social issue, making the term ‘ultra low fertility rate’ common. Currently, South Korea, like many other leading industrialized countries, is coping with the problem of low fertility with a focus on the work-life balance policy. Unfortunately, South Korea’s work-life balance policy has been criticized as not so successful. Especially, it has been pointed out that the policy effects are being compromised because ‘it is not because there is no system, but the existing system does not work properly.’ This means that work-life balance policy in South Korea has a structural and fundamental problem. In this regard, it is necessary to reflect on policy discourses and instruments that determine the goals, directions and content of the policy. The result of the analysis in this paper reveals that South Korea’s work-life balance policy consists of the discourse of ‘raising the fertility rate’ and its policy instruments. It mobilizes citizens for the national goals of social reproduction and sustainable growth. It could be said that this reversal of purpose and means was because the policy makers and executives were buried in developmentalist thinking―in pursuit of materialistic social development. In this respect, in order for South Korea’s work-life balance policy to be on its way, it is urgently required that it should shift its policy paradigm to change practices and cultures. This paper argues that such a paradigm shift should be based on a ‘Social Quality Approach’. Only when we pursue humanistic social development in the planning and implementation of policies and continue to monitor and supplement related systems under this stance, can we achieve a stable and effective work-life balance policy.

ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 EMERGENCE OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE POLICY
  Demographic Change: Low Fertility and Aging Population
  Socioeconomic Change: Changes in Family Structure and the Mobilizationof the Female Workforce
 POLICY DISCOURSES OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE
  Discourse of Raising Fertility Rate
  Discourse of Economic Activation
  Discourse of Gender Equality
  Discourse of Social Investment
 POLICY INSTRUMENTS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE
  Leave Schemes
  Flexible Work
  Financial Support
  Childcare Services
 PRESENT SITUATION OF SOUTH KOREA’S WORK-LIFEBALANCE POLICY
  Late Marriage, Non-marriage and the Deterioration in Quality of Life
  Present Conditions of Work-Life Balance:Focusing on Work-Family Reconciliation
 IN PLACE OF CONCLUSION:SOCIAL QUALITY APPROACH AND THE RESTRUCTURINGOF WORK-LIFE BALANCE POLICY IN SOUTH KOREA
 REFERENCES

• Bo-young PARK(Department of Social Welfare, Far East University)