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Jeju Province will implement a once-a-week telecommuting system for public officials with preschool children.

On the 14th, Jeju Province announced that it will introduce a system encouraging about 200 employees working at the main office who have preschool children (born after 2018) to work from home once a week.

Jeju Provincial Office. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

Additionally, for about 60 employees with children under the age of 2 (born after July 2022), mandatory telecommuting once a week has been implemented.

Jeju Province plans to pilot the once-a-week telecommuting system initially for employees at the main office and expand it to affiliated agencies and business offices starting in October.

Previously, Jeju Province supported work-family balance by providing five days of childcare leave for public officials with children under the age of 4, and offering benefits such as special promotions and additional career evaluation points for those with three or more children.

Since the 1st of this month, Jeju Province also introduced a flexible work system of 4.5 days per week, allowing employees to leave at 1 p.m. every Friday while maintaining a 40-hour workweek. Jeju is the first metropolitan local government to adopt a system that flexibly arranges working hours within total working hours.

Departments work four days from Monday to Thursday, with each day consisting of 9 hours (one hour more than the previous 8 hours) for up to 30% of employees, and work 4 hours on Friday.

Cho Sang-beom, Director of Jeju Province Special Self-Governing Administration Bureau, said, "We expect this system to reduce the burden on public officials who have concerns about childcare and create an environment where they can balance parenting and work."

Meanwhile, Chungnam Province has been implementing a '4-day workweek' since this month, three months ahead of Jeju, targeting employees including public officials with children under the age of 2 at the main office, affiliated agencies, business offices, cities, counties, and provincial public institutions.

This was prepared following Governor Kim Tae-heum's announcement in April of the 'Strong Chungnam Full-Care Childcare Policy,' in response to the sharp decline of Chungnam's total fertility rate to 0.83 in 2023, which poses a national extinction crisis.

The aim is to create an environment where employees in the public sector can care for their children without hesitation. The main measures include the introduction and implementation of a 4-day workweek, expansion of family care time, and childcare leave.

Shin Dong-heon, Director of the Provincial Autonomy and Safety Office, stated, "Mandatory implementation of the 4-day workweek will contribute to alleviating the low birthrate problem by providing a flexible working environment where public officials with young children can care for their children without concern."