[Responding to Population Crisis] Parenting Support for Unregistered Parents... Expansion of Infertility Leave

Second Population Future Strategy Vice Ministers' Meeting of Related Ministries
Parental Leave Extended from 1 to 1.5 Years, Pilot Operation of Gender Labor Disclosure System
Fast Track for Permanent Residency and Naturalization of Foreign Talents in Science and Technology

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Song Seung-seop] The government is raising the economic activity participation rate of vulnerable employment groups to address the rapidly declining domestic population issue. It will expand the duration of parental leave and infertility leave, and eliminate discrimination based on the legal marital status of parents in childbirth and childcare support. To increase the attraction of foreign workers, visa issuance will be eased, and policy funds will be invested to extend employment and reemployment for the elderly.

On the 28th, the government held the ‘2nd Population Future Strategy Vice-Ministerial Meeting of Related Ministries’ at the government complex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, chaired by Na Kyung-won, Vice Chairperson of the Low Fertility and Aging Society Committee, and announced the ‘Population Structure Changes and Response Measures.’ The measures included plans to increase the domestic economically active population.

To resolve the issue of career interruption among women and increase their economic participation rate, the government will improve the reduced working hours system during childcare. The eligible age of children will be raised from the current 8 years old to under 12 years old, and measures to promote the employment of substitute workers will be prepared by the second half of next year. Methods such as strengthening recruitment services or providing incentives when employing women with career interruptions are being considered. The ‘Gender Labor Disclosure System,’ which publicly discloses gender data externally, will start in the public sector next year. Additionally, incentives will be expanded for small and medium enterprises that have maintained family-friendly company certification from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for a long period.

Childbirth and childcare systems will also be revised. Based on the results of the maternal protection status survey, the parental leave period will be extended from 1 year to 1.5 years. The ‘spouse childbirth leave split-use system,’ which is currently only available once, and the ‘infertility treatment leave,’ which was criticized for being insufficient at only 3 days, will also be extended. For infertility leave, usage will be activated by introducing an employer’s obligation to maintain confidentiality. In particular, efforts will begin to identify legal and institutional improvement tasks to prevent discrimination based on the legal marital status of parents during childbirth and childcare processes.

The widespread labor shortage across industries will be addressed by easing regulations on attracting foreign workers. The career requirement for visas issued when small and medium enterprises hire foreign professionals will be relaxed from 5 years to 3 years. A new negative-type visa will be introduced that allows excellent foreign workers to be employed regardless of pre-approved occupations. A ‘fast track’ for permanent residency and naturalization of outstanding science and technology talents will also be introduced by the first half of next year.

The annual total quota for skilled worker conversion will be significantly expanded from 2,000 this year to 5,000 next year. For non-professional employment workers, the residency period qualification will be relaxed from 5 years to 4 years to allow conversion to skilled workers without leaving and re-entering the country. The Employment Permit System will be improved to ensure that the supply of workers matches the demand in industrial sites at the necessary times.

Policies to extend employment for the elderly have also been introduced. Continuous employment incentives and elderly employment support funds for small and medium-sized enterprises will be increased, and the application of unemployment benefits for new workers aged 65 and over will be reviewed. In the statistics sector, the age groups in the economically active population survey will be subdivided. The elderly indicator, which was unified as 70 years and older, will be divided into 70?74 years and 75 years and older.