[The Era of Non-Marriage] Married vs. Single: 20 Million Won Gap in Employee Benefits

⑫Simulation of Welfare Systems for Small and Medium Enterprises
Wedding Congratulatory Money, Child Education Support... Exclusion of Singles
Spouse-Related Condolence Money Items Also Focused on Married Individuals

Editor's NoteIn a world where marriage is not mandatory, encountering those who choose to remain single is no longer a strange experience. Who chooses to remain single, and why? The issue is not only the societal prejudices surrounding singlehood. There also exists a vague admiration toward it. We examine the pros and cons of the so-called 'single life.'

"Among the rites of passage, marriage corresponds to a universal human value. Wedding congratulatory money or special leave for marriage are measures taken as a result of marriage, so providing congratulatory money or special leave for singles is out of the question."

"Singles and DINKs should feel ashamed. Have you thought about how the young people who pay taxes and sustain the country when you grow old and weak will come about? You should feel embarrassed and sorry, not boast about it."

In the comments on the article titled 'Congratulatory Money and Special Leave for Employees Who Do Not Marry' from the Single Era series Part 7, negative reactions poured in regarding some companies introducing welfare benefits for singles. There are two main reasons. Welfare expenses provided to married employees are strongly supportive of major events like marriage and childbirth, but singles do not have such events. There was also strong opposition to 'singles who do not have children.' Given the low birthrate trend, welfare for young people who do not have children is seen as inappropriate because it is unlikely to be returned to society.

However, providing benefits equivalent to those for married employees to single employees is a story limited to a very small number of large corporations. Even then, to receive 'single support funds,' singles must meet stricter conditions such as length of service and age compared to married employees. The 'single welfare system' does not mean a fully developed customized welfare system for singles but rather symbolizes companies responding to the demands of single workers.

Corporate Welfare Costs Increase... But Welfare Remains Centered on Married Employees

In reality, the welfare gap felt by married and single workers remains, even as corporate welfare expenditures increase. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's '2021 Fiscal Year Enterprise Labor Cost Survey,' the average monthly non-statutory welfare cost among indirect labor costs was 249,000 KRW, up 6.5% (15,000 KRW) from the previous year. Non-statutory welfare costs are expenses voluntarily borne for employee welfare, including housing, health care, meals, and child education subsidies.

However, even with increased welfare costs, the large framework of welfare centered on married employees remains unchanged, so single workers inevitably receive fewer welfare benefits than married workers. Since in-house welfare systems aim to improve workers' well-being, they focus on married employees who have higher living expenses. The problem is that the number of single-person households, which have recently drawn a line from marriage and childbirth, has surged, raising voices about fairness in welfare and related wages that function as indirect wages.

Asia Economy compared the welfare amount differences between married and single employees. Based on a welfare system of a small-to-medium enterprise (SME), assuming two employees, Kim Bihon and Park Gihon, who differ only in marital status but have the same length of service, rank, and gender, the analysis showed a welfare cost difference exceeding 20 million KRW depending on marriage and childbirth status. Welfare allowances commonly provided to both single and married employees, such as meal allowances, were excluded. The SME was assumed to have typical benefits such as ▲wedding congratulatory money (1 million KRW) and other congratulatory money ▲special leave for family events ▲congratulatory money for middle and high school entrance (300,000 KRW each) ▲child education support (2 million KRW per semester, up to 8 semesters).

The results of calculating the welfare amount that a hypothetical unmarried worker and a married worker can receive at Company A, a small and medium-sized enterprise.

Families are enjoying their time at Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on the 4th, a day before Children's Day. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

First, if Park Gihon, who is currently employed, gets married, he receives 1 million KRW as wedding congratulatory money and 5 days of special leave from the company. After marriage, the scope of support for family events expands to include the spouse and the spouse's parents, grandparents, and siblings. Although condolence money varies by degree of kinship, for singles, the scope is limited to themselves, parents, grandparents, and siblings, whereas for married employees, it includes the spouse's family as well, effectively more than doubling the range of welfare money they can receive.

If Park Gihon has children during his employment and raises them through university, the difference becomes significant. He receives childbirth congratulatory money (500,000 KRW), congratulatory money for middle and high school entrance (300,000 KRW each), and if the child completes 8 semesters of university (16 million KRW), he receives over 20 million KRW in welfare benefits from the company. This estimate assumes Park Gihon has worked for over 24 years, raised children, and accounts for the death of the spouse's parents, grandparents, and siblings during this period.

Since in-house welfare effectively functions as part of wages, there are calls to diversify welfare systems beyond the four-person household model to ensure fairness. However, in-house welfare is a company-autonomous area, so government policy incentives seem necessary.

Labor law expert attorney Kim Nam-seok said, "Legally, welfare is not part of working conditions, so even if there is a practical financial loss, there is no way to claim it. You can request it to be reflected in collective agreements, but if the company does not accept it, that's the end of it."