Establishment of Population Register and Response to Special Low Birthrate Account
Announcement of Childcare Leave and Flexible Work Support Measures
Increase in Childcare Leave Benefits
The People Power Party promised to establish a new paid childcare leave of 5 days per year to address the low birthrate issue, and to mandate that fathers receive one month of paid paternity leave when a child is born. To strengthen the state's responsibility for the low birthrate problem, they also announced plans to create a Deputy Prime Minister-level Population Department and to establish a ‘Special Account for Low Birthrate Response’ to secure funding for low birthrate measures.
On the 18th, Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, visited the startup ‘Hurei Positive’ and announced the ‘No. 1 Pledge: Happiness for Both Work and Family.’ Chairman Han, who advocates the ‘National Courier Policy Delivery,’ along with Yoo Ui-dong, Chairman of the People Power Party Policy Committee, and Hong Seok-cheol, General Headquarters Director, revealed the general election pledges in the form of a courier delivery on that day.
The pledges mainly include strengthening the state’s responsibility for the low birthrate issue, support measures that allow families balancing work and childcare to spend time together, establishing flexible working arrangements during childcare periods, and support plans for securing substitute personnel in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
To strengthen the state’s responsibility for the low birthrate, the People Power Party plans to establish a Deputy Prime Minister-level Population Department that will integrate low birthrate policies scattered across various ministries and oversee them comprehensively. The existing Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s duties will be absorbed into the Population Department. Additionally, a ‘Special Account for Low Birthrate Response’ will be created to secure funding for low birthrate measures.
They pledged to introduce a paid childcare leave of 5 days per year so that working parents can spend time with their children. This leave can be taken if a child up to the third grade of elementary school is sick or requires care. Furthermore, maternity leave will be changed to paternity leave and extended to one month. Parental leave and maternity leave will be automatically granted upon application. The cap on parental leave benefits will also be raised from the current 1.5 million KRW to 2.1 million KRW.
For flexible working during childcare periods, companies will be required to establish employment rules for flexible work options such as staggered working hours, telecommuting, reduced working hours, hybrid flexible work, and childcare service support. Parental leave and similar leaves will be made mandatory to be publicly disclosed.
To secure substitute personnel for SMEs, incentives called ‘Chaeum Talent’ will be provided, and if it is difficult to secure substitutes, a new allowance for colleagues covering the work will be introduced and paid. Initially, this colleague allowance will be paid when working hours are reduced this year, and later expanded to cover parental leave and other cases. The subsidy for substitute personnel during parental leave in SMEs will be doubled (from the current 800,000 KRW to 1.6 million KRW), and subsidies will be tripled (to 2.4 million KRW) when hiring career-interrupted or middle-aged retirees as substitutes.
Additionally, family-friendly excellent SMEs will receive corporate tax reductions, and work-family balance systems will be introduced even for those not enrolled in employment insurance.
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