Democrats Propose Bill to Double Parental Leave Pay from 1.5 Million to 3 Million Won per Month

Oh Young-hwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 31st that he has taken the lead in proposing a bill (Partial Amendment to the Employment Insurance Act) to raise the monthly ceiling of childcare leave benefits to 3 million won.

Assemblyman Oh Young-hwan [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to current laws, when a worker takes childcare leave, the worker is paid childcare leave benefits amounting to 80% of the worker's average monthly wage, with a monthly payment ceiling set at 1.5 million won and a floor at 700,000 won.

According to Statistics Korea, the average monthly income of wage workers in 2020 was 3.2 million won, but the ceiling for childcare leave benefits is 1.5 million won, making it difficult to replace income with childcare leave benefits, according to Representative Oh's claim.

Representative Oh explained the purpose of the bill, saying, "There have been calls to improve the system to increase the income replacement rate of childcare leave benefits," and "We aim to provide more effective support so that workers can balance work and family life."