Last Year, Male Parental Leave Users Surpassed 30% for the First Time

Increase in Total Parental Leave Users to 130,000... 5.2% Growth
Rising Trend in Parental Leave Use for Infants Under 12 Months
SME Employees Account for 56.8% of All Parental Leave Users

Last year, the rate of male workers taking parental leave exceeded 30% for the first time. The proportion of workers taking parental leave in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and companies with fewer than 100 employees continued to rise. Parental leave was mainly used when the child was 0 years old, while reduced working hours during the childcare period were evenly distributed across all age groups.

Increase in Male Users of Parental Leave... Expansion Trend in SME Usage

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 23rd that the number of beneficiaries of work and childcare support systems such as maternity leave and parental leave reached 256,771 last year, an increase of 7.2% (17,242 people) compared to the previous year.

The number of parental leave users last year was 132,535, up 5.2% (6,527 people). Although the number of parental leave users had slightly decreased in 2023 due to the declining birth rate, it turned to an increasing trend again last year.

In particular, men accounted for 31.6% (41,829 people) of parental leave benefit recipients, marking the 30% range for the first time. The number of male parental leave users has rapidly increased, growing ninefold over ten years from 4,872 (5.6%) in 2015.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "The implementation of the 'Parental Joint Parental Leave System' last year, which supports parents to receive up to 4.5 million KRW per month in parental leave benefits if both parents take six months of parental leave within 18 months after the child's birth, seems to have had a significant impact." The number of users benefiting from this system last year was 51,761, 2.16 times higher than the previous year.

By child age, the use of parental leave for 0-year-olds (within 12 months after birth), when parental care is most needed, is increasing. 80.0% of women and 46.5% of men took parental leave when their child was 0 years old. These figures represent increases of 2.1 percentage points and 7.5 percentage points, respectively, compared to the previous year.

By company size, last year, parental leave users in SMEs (priority support companies) numbered 75,311, accounting for 56.8% of the total. This is an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year. Workers in companies with fewer than 100 employees also accounted for 60,128 (45.4%), with their proportion rising by 0.9 percentage points from the previous year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor expects this trend to continue this year. From last month to the 18th of this month, the number of parental leave users was 18,605, a 42.6% increase compared to the same period last year. In particular, the number of men surged by 69.2% to 5,788.

The number of users of reduced working hours during the childcare period last year was 26,627, up 14.8% (3,439 people) from the previous year. Workers in SMEs (priority support companies) accounted for 62.8% (16,718 people) of all beneficiaries. Notably, workers in very small companies with fewer than 10 employees accounted for 24%, indicating high utilization of the system.

By child age, reduced working hours during the childcare period were more evenly distributed across all age groups compared to parental leave. Use by children aged 0-1 was the most prominent at 38.4%, followed by children aged 6-7 at 22.5%. The average usage time for reduced working hours during the childcare period was 12.3 hours per week (about 2.5 hours per day).

'Three Childcare Support Laws' Enforced from the 23rd

This year, related systems will be significantly expanded to support working parents in balancing work and family life. Since last month, parental leave benefits have been increased to a maximum of 2.5 million KRW per month, and the method of paying 25% of the benefits after the leave period has been abolished, allowing full payment during the parental leave period. The first month's benefit under the Parental Joint Parental Leave System has been raised to 2.5 million KRW.

From the 23rd, the 'Three Childcare Support Laws' will be enforced, allowing the reduced working hours system during the childcare period to be used until the child reaches the 6th grade of elementary school (age 12). Benefits for reduced hours (up to 550,000 KRW per month for a 10-hour weekly reduction) and the usage period (extended from a maximum of 2 years to 3 years) have also been expanded.

Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, said, "We will focus on ensuring that the expanded work-family balance systems this year are well established in the field so that all working parents can give birth and raise children without worry and continue their careers."