"Don't Worry, Career-Interrupted Women" Rehiring After Childcare Resignation... Cases of Giving Birth During Infertility Leave [K Population Strategy]

(26) KB Kookmin Bank
Conditional Rehire Parental Leave System
Skilled Talent Secures Same Rank Return
Erasing Career Interruption Anxiety

Editor's NoteThe key to solving South Korea's population problem lies within companies. A workplace atmosphere that evaluates employees based on their work regardless of gender, along with a family-friendly culture, is crucial to addressing the K-population issue. Although low birth rates are influenced by multiple factors, it is important to ensure that workplace burdens do not become obstacles that make people hesitate to have children. Asia Economy is visiting companies leading family-friendly policies to identify the factors that have allowed these systems to be stably established, and will explore various approaches with companies that lack practical conditions. Through this, we aim to encourage change starting from companies and analyze the government's role in making this possible. 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.

Jung Hae-shin, a 41-year-old female assistant manager at KB Kookmin Bank with 18 years of work experience, took a "parental retirement" this month on the condition of re-employment because she had no one to take care of her 5-year-old son. KB Kookmin Bank established a "re-employment conditional parental retirement system" last year, which guarantees a 5-year childcare period including 2 years of parental leave. This system grants employees who have taken parental leave the opportunity to be re-employed three years after retirement. They are rehired by KB Kookmin Bank without a separate recruitment process and return to their previous rank before retirement upon re-employment. According to KB Kookmin Bank, 45 people have applied for the re-employment conditional parental retirement system like Ms. Jung.

Ms. Jung, who had decided to resign for the sake of her son, gained time to fully focus on childcare and overcame her fear of career interruption thanks to this system. She said, "I have walked one path for over 15 years since graduating from university and joining the bank, and it was true that I was worried whether I could find another job if I quit the company," adding, "I can devote myself to my child for three years, and the anxiety about career interruption has disappeared."

KB Kookmin Bank introduced this system to secure talent. It is difficult to move to another bank in the banking sector, and it takes several years to become a skilled professional. Jo Ho-jin, head of the HR department at KB Kookmin Bank, explained, "These are excellent talents, and if they have to retire due to childcare, it is a loss for the company as well," adding, "It takes several years to train new employees to become skilled professionals, but re-employed employees only took a break from their previous work, so they adapt much faster when they return."

KB Kookmin Bank is also actively implementing support measures for infertility. Infertility leave is available for one year. Since infertile couples have the will to give birth, there have been continuous calls for support to increase birth rates. Choi Hee-joo, a 37-year-old manager at KB Kookmin Bank, gave birth to a long-awaited child last January after five years of marriage, thanks to infertility leave. Ms. Choi, who had difficulty conceiving naturally, started in vitro fertilization and found it difficult to manage the schedule with just regular leave. She said, "I had to visit the hospital every 2-3 days, and the visit dates were suddenly set according to the ovulation cycle, so it was not easy to balance work and treatment," adding, "During the infertility leave period, I could focus solely on having a child with peace of mind, which helped, and after two months of infertility leave, I became pregnant as my anxiety decreased."

Regarding the background of introducing a system deeply reflecting concerns about solving the low birth rate problem, KB Kookmin Bank President Lee Jae-geun said, "With a sense of crisis that companies must change and a desire to fulfill social responsibility, we introduced the industry's first 're-employment conditional parental retirement' system and operate various welfare programs," adding, "We will encourage childbirth by alleviating concerns about career interruption and practice corporate social responsibility by providing opportunities for excellent talents to continuously grow."

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

Reporters Yuri Kim, Hyun-joo Lee, Hyun-jin Jung, Ae-ri Boo, Byung-seon Gong, Jun-yi Park, Seung-seop Song; Economic and Financial Editor Pil-su Kim