One in Three Parental Leave Takers in the First Half of the Year Is a 'Dad'... Highest Male Proportion Ever Recorded

Employment and Labor Ministry Parental Leave Pay Statistics
44% of Male Leave Takers in Large Corporations

One out of three workers who took parental leave in the first half of this year was male, according to a survey.

According to employment administration statistics from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 4th, the total number of first-time recipients who started receiving parental leave benefits after taking parental leave from January to June this year was 69,631. Since parental leave benefits are paid to those enrolled in employment insurance, this statistic excludes public officials and teachers on parental leave who are not enrolled in employment insurance.

The number of parental leave takers in the first half of this year increased by 3.2% compared to the same period last year (67,465). By gender, the number of women (47,171) decreased by 1.8% compared to last year, but the number of men (22,460) on leave increased by 15.7%. As a result, the proportion of men among first-time recipients in the first half of the year was 32.3%, meaning that one out of three parental leave takers was male.

The proportion of men among parental leave benefit recipients has continuously increased from 8.7% in 2016 to ▲13.4% in 2017 ▲21.2% in 2019 ▲26.2% in 2021. In 2022, it reached 28.9%, approaching 30%, then slightly declined to 28.0% in 2023, but rose significantly again in the first half of this year, surpassing 30% for the first time. The proportion of male parental leave takers varied by company size. Among parental leave takers in large companies with over 1,000 employees in the first half of the year, men accounted for 43.5%, nearly half, whereas in workplaces with fewer than 100 employees, the proportion was only 22.7%.

The main reason for the increase in male parental leave takers is the expansion of benefits for parental leave taken together by both parents starting this year. Until last year, the '3+3 Parental Leave for Parents' system was in place, which provided 100% of the ordinary wage for the first three months when parents cared for a child under 12 months old together on parental leave. From this year, it has been expanded to '6+6', and the eligible child age was extended to within 18 months of birth. The monthly cap was also increased from 2 million KRW in the first month by 500,000 KRW each month, reaching 4.5 million KRW in the sixth month. Therefore, if both parents have an ordinary wage of 4.5 million KRW or more per month, they can receive up to 39 million KRW combined over six months.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor revealed that the number of first-time recipients of the '3+3 Parental Leave for Parents' system in the first half of last year was 13,160, while the number of first-time recipients of the '6+6 Parental Leave for Parents' system in the first half of this year was 27,806, more than doubling.