A Single-Income Dad's Secret to Going to the Movies with His Wife After 11 Years [K Population Strategy]

(15) CJ CheilJedang Provides Paid Leave for Childcare During School Admission
Managers Share Schedule in Advance... No Burden on Colleagues
Time with Hardworking Wife Felt Like a "Gift"

Editor's NoteThe key to solving South Korea's population problem lies within companies. A workplace culture that evaluates employees based on their work regardless of gender and a family-friendly environment are crucial to addressing the K population issue. While low birth rates result from complex factors, it is important to ensure that burdens at work do not become obstacles that make people hesitate to have children. Asia Economy has visited companies leading family-friendly policies to identify the factors that helped these systems settle firmly, and plans to explore various solutions with companies that face practical challenges. Through this, we aim to encourage change starting from companies and analyze the government's role in enabling this. We listen to voices emphasizing that company culture and atmosphere that reduce psychological burdens are more important than financial support, and present alternatives from diverse perspectives.

"A 5-night 6-day family trip to Bangkok, Thailand, going to the movies alone with my wife for the first time in 11 years, small conversations with my son on his way home from school..."

These were the activities of Mr. Jeong Seong-yeok (43, male), who works at CJ CheilJedang in Jung-gu, Seoul, during two weeks spent with his family in February and March last year.

Jeong, who has been working for 17 years, always felt that time with his family was insufficient. Since he was the sole breadwinner, his wife mainly took care of childcare. Even when he had time to talk with his children, it was difficult to maintain long conversations because he did not really know how they were living. Jeong also felt sorry for his wife, who quit her job after his transfer to a regional office. After their first child, Haein, was born in 2013, his wife took parental leave but eventually gave up her job due to changes in her workplace and the social anxiety following the Sewol ferry disaster.

Jeong was able to spend precious time with his family when their second child, Suin (7), entered elementary school. CJ CheilJedang operates a "Child Enrollment Care Leave" system that allows employees with school-age children to take a total of four weeks off, including two weeks of paid leave. This system, implemented since 2017, was used by 187 men and 63 women in 2022, and 195 men and 67 women in 2021. Recently, HD Hyundai announced plans to double female recruitment by 2030 and offer up to six months of "childcare leave" to employees with school-age children.

Having only been at his current job for two years, Jeong initially doubted whether he could really take care leave. However, he often talked with colleagues who had children of similar ages about what they would do during their leave, and an email from the HR department to department heads in early January reassured him. From the beginning of the year, Jeong's leave schedule was shared during department meetings, and colleagues divided the work accordingly. Jeong said, "Because information about care leave was shared with the department head early on, the department reflected that. Everyone knew when their kids were starting school, so there was no burden at all."

"Seeing my son grow up in person, not just in videos, was touching"

Jeong was able to take care leave without any sense of guilt because the company culture established that leave or parental leave related to children is "available to everyone." At CJ CheilJedang, employees can take personal annual leave simply by submitting it without approval procedures. Coordinating schedules and work distribution is considered a skill that higher management must possess.

Of the two weeks of care leave, one week was spent with family. Although they had taken a 1-night 2-day camping trip nearby after the COVID-19 outbreak, this was the first time the whole family?his wife and two children?went on a trip for about a week. To persuade his son, who dislikes flying, the whole family started planning from early in the year. They also booked accommodations affordably through the company's overseas travel support system.

"My wife and I can't swim, so I taught my son how to swim. Until then, I had only seen videos my wife sent me, but that was the first time I saw my son swimming in person."

Returning on a flight early morning on March 2, Jeong's family immediately attended their son's elementary school entrance ceremony. Jeong said, "Around that time, it's a busy period with monthly closings and preparing business plans, so I didn't attend the entrance ceremony for my first child." He added, "There is also a general atmosphere where fathers don't usually attend entrance ceremonies, and I think I self-censored, wondering if a father really needs to go." However, after the company sent gifts to children about to enter school and granted leave, his perspective changed. Jeong said, "My daughter demanded the same gift as my son, which was a bit troublesome (laughs). I didn't know about this system when I changed jobs, but thanks to it, I was able to recharge and spend gift-like time with my family."

Enjoying coffee with my wife after sending the kids to school

The other week was spent with his wife. Care leave can be taken consecutively for two weeks or split into one-week segments. Jeong recalled, "While resting, I went to the movies with my wife and went shopping together. It was the first time we went to the movies alone since our first child was born." There were also days when they leisurely drank coffee at home after sending the kids to school, and days when they went out shopping just the two of them.

Wanting to give his wife a break, Jeong personally picked up his son from school and took him to his academy a few days. Jeong said, "Usually, mothers are the ones standing there, so it felt a bit awkward being the only one. I think my son didn't like it much either because only his dad was there," he said with a laugh. He added, "I got to know a bit about what my son usually does. We talked about what he did today while going back and forth between school and academy, what classes he takes after school, and what sports he wants to try in the future."

CJ CheilJedang continuously revises systems to help employees balance work and family according to their situations. A CJ CheilJedang official said, "The care leave system was established in 2017 because more employees were quitting around the time their children entered elementary school. Although it was introduced to prevent career breaks for women, we realized that when men also use it, it greatly influences organizational culture and atmosphere."

Special Coverage Team 'K Population Strategy - Gender Equality is the Answer'

Reporters: Kim Yuri, Lee Hyun-joo, Jeong Hyun-jin, Boo Aeri, Gong Byung-seon, Park Joon-i, Song Seung-seop
Kim Pil-su, Economic and Financial Editor