Dual-Income Couples Can Take Up to 3 Years of Parental Leave... Spouse's Paternity Leave Also Extended to 20 Days

Starting next year, dual-income couples will be able to take up to 3 years of parental leave, and spouses' paternity leave will be extended to 20 days.

On the 26th, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Act on Gender Equality in Employment and Work-Family Balance Support in a plenary session. The amendment will take effect four months after the date of promulgation.

The amendment expands the total parental leave period from the current 2 years to 3 years, with 1 year and 6 months per parent, and increases the number of times the leave period can be divided from 2 to 3.

Spouses' paternity leave will also be extended to a total of 20 days. The regulations have been relaxed to allow use within 120 days from the date of childbirth, with up to 3 separate periods.

Infertility treatment leave will increase from the current 3 days (1 day paid) to 6 days (2 days paid).

The amendment also includes expanding the eligible age of children for reduced working hours during childcare from the current 8 years to 12 years.

On the same day, an amendment to the Child Support Enforcement Act was also passed, which includes the introduction of a 'child support advance payment system' where the state first pays child support to single-parent families and later recovers it from the non-custodial parent.