"Parental Leave Benefits: Receive Full Amount if Partially Applied Within One Year After Leave Ends"

Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center Leads Ruling on Exception to Short-Term Application Deadline for Parental Leave Benefits

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center of the Seoul Welfare Foundation announced on the 16th that it received a final victory ruling from the Seoul High Court on the 15th, ordering the payment of parental leave benefits in a lawsuit filed against the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office on behalf of Mr. A, a man in his 30s, who was denied parental leave benefits on the grounds that the claim period had expired.

This case arose because the Employment Insurance Act sets a short claim period for parental leave benefits within one year from the end of the parental leave to promptly confirm the legal relationship regarding parental leave benefits. The plaintiff gave birth to a second child immediately after the first parental leave period and was granted a second parental leave. While using the second leave, he belatedly claimed benefits for the first parental leave, but the claim was rejected on the grounds that the claim period had passed.

Regarding this matter, the Supreme Court stated, “When applying for parental leave benefits, it should be regarded as exercising an abstract claim right for the entire parental leave period that was approved and taken.” It ruled to overturn and remand the case, stating that since the plaintiff claimed two months of benefits within the claim period, the remaining ten months of benefits can also be paid even if claimed after one year from the end of the parental leave.

Attorney Kim Do-hee (Public Interest Law Center), who represented the case, said, “Compared to the social policy changes expanding parental leave benefits to encourage childbirth, there is insufficient discussion on legal issues, causing continuous legal disputes related to benefit payment requirements.” She added, “We will continue to pursue related relief lawsuits to ensure that the social safety net system, which is difficult to navigate due to the claimant’s distress or complicated payment procedures, is not abandoned.”

She further added, “It is cumbersome to claim parental leave benefits monthly, so sometimes claims are made all at once later. In such cases, since one might be in distress later, it is safer to claim some benefits first.”

Meanwhile, the Public Interest Law Center was established within the Seoul Welfare Foundation in July 2014 to provide legal consultations, public interest litigation, public interest legislation, and system improvements in the field of social security for Seoul citizens. So far, including this Supreme Court ruling, it has received three rulings of reversal and remand.