Record 206,000 Took Parental Leave Last Year... Fathers Surpass 60,000 for the First Time

4.0% Increase in Parental Leave Takers Last Year
Fathers: 60,117, Up 18.3%
Mothers: 146,000, Accounting for 70.8%

Last year, the number of people taking parental leave reached a record high of 206,226 since relevant statistics began to be compiled. In particular, the number of fathers taking parental leave exceeded 60,000 for the first time. For the first time, the proportion of fathers with newborns in 2024 who took parental leave that year surpassed the 10% mark.

In February, medical staff caring for a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit at Ain Hospital in Michuhol-gu, Incheon.

Record Number of Parental Leave Takers Last Year

According to the "2024 Parental Leave Statistics (Provisional)" released by the National Data Office on December 17, the number of people who began parental leave last year for pregnancy or for children aged eight or younger (or second grade or below in elementary school) was 206,226, an increase of 8,008 people (4.0%) compared to the previous year.

Among all parental leave takers, mothers accounted for 146,109, representing 70.8% of the total. This was a decrease of 1,294 people (0.9%) from the previous year. In contrast, fathers numbered 60,117, an increase of 9,302 people (18.3%). Fathers accounted for 29.2% of all parental leave takers.

An official from the National Data Office stated, "Both the total number of parental leave takers and the number of fathers reached their highest levels since statistics began in 2010," adding, "The increase in the number of fathers is the second largest since 2022, when the 3+3 parental leave policy for both parents was implemented (12,368 people)."

For mothers, the largest age group was 30 to 34, accounting for 42.9%. This is a 1.6 percentage point increase from the previous year. This was followed by those aged 35 to 39 (33.0%), 40 and above (14.7%), and under 30 (9.3%).

For fathers, the largest age group was 35 to 39 (38.7%), followed by 40 and above (32.9%), 30 to 34 (24.9%), and under 30 (3.5%). Notably, the proportion rose across all age groups except those aged 40 and above (which fell by 2.8 percentage points).

Proportion of Parental Leave in Companies with 300 or More Employees Decreases

Last year, 67.9% of fathers who began parental leave were employed by companies with 300 or more employees. This is a 2.5 percentage point decrease from the previous year. This was followed by companies with 50 to 299 employees (14.8%), 5 to 49 employees (12.7%), and 4 or fewer employees (4.3%).

For mothers, 57.7% were employed by companies with 300 or more employees, a 1.2 percentage point decrease from the previous year. This was followed by companies with 5 to 49 employees (21.2%), 50 to 299 employees (15.0%), and 4 or fewer employees (5.7%), showing a different pattern from fathers.

By industry, the highest proportion of fathers who began parental leave last year worked in manufacturing (22.3%), followed by public administration, national defense, and social security administration (19.6%). For mothers, the highest proportion worked in health care and social welfare services at 20.3%.

Among mothers who gave birth last year, 59.9% were employed as of the date of childbirth. This employment rate was 7.3 percentage points lower than 360 days before childbirth (67.2%).

Proportion of Fathers Taking Parental Leave for Newborns Exceeds 10% for the First Time

By region, the number of parental leave takers last year was highest in Gyeonggi Province (60,917), followed by Seoul (37,265). The numbers were relatively low in Jeju (3,149) and Sejong (3,583). In Sejong, the figure decreased by 1.9% compared to the previous year.

The parental leave usage rate among parents of newborns last year was 34.7%, up 1.7 percentage points. The proportion for mothers was 72.2%, and for fathers, 10.2%. These figures represent a decrease of 1.0 percentage point for mothers and an increase of 2.7 percentage points for fathers. This is the first time the proportion for fathers has exceeded 10%.

Among parents of newborns last year, 96,810 took parental leave that year, an increase of 9.7%. This means that for every 100 newborns, 40.6 parents took parental leave, an increase of 2.2 compared to the previous year.

From 2015 to last year, among parents with only children born in 2015, the rate of parental leave usage at any time from birth to age eight shows that for fathers, the highest rate was when the child was six years old (18.0%), while for mothers, it was when the child was a newborn (83.8%).