Paternal Leave Up 60%... Work-Family Balance Program Use Hits All-Time High

Last year, the number of male recipients of parental leave benefits reached 67,200, up 60.7% from the previous year, accounting for 36.5% of the total.

On February 24, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced these figures as it held an inauguration ceremony and town hall meeting for the third-term "Working Mom & Dad On-site Mentor Group" at the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office. The mentor group consists of 20 working parents in their 30s and 40s, selected to reflect a range of industries and age groups.

According to the ministry, the number of users of work-family balance support programs, including parental leave, reduced working hours during the child-rearing period, and maternity leave, reached 342,388. This is the first time since related statistics began to be compiled that the figure has exceeded 300,000. As the system has been improved, fathers' participation in caregiving has expanded, and the use of work-family balance programs has been rapidly increasing.

On a holiday with a fairly cool breeze, children who went on an outing with their father are running around with dragonfly nets. The sight of them chasing dragonflies with bright, innocent smiles is as heartwarming as a scene from a fairy tale. (Seoul Botanic Park) Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The government plans to continue improving the system to sustain the recent rebound in the birth rate. In the second half of this year, it intends to introduce a "three-type support package for spouses," which will include the creation of miscarriage and stillbirth leave for spouses, allowing spouses to take paternity leave while their partner is pregnant, and permitting men to take parental leave when caregiving is needed during pregnancy. A short-term parental leave program, which can be used in one- to two-week units during children's school vacations or in the event of sudden closures of childcare centers or schools, is also set to be implemented.

Support for small and medium-sized enterprises will also be expanded. The subsidy for replacement workers hired to fill personnel gaps caused by parental leave and similar arrangements will be raised to a maximum of 1.4 million won per month, and the subsidy paid to colleagues who share the workload will be increased to a maximum of 600,000 won per month. Starting in March, the "Happy Workplace in Industrial Complexes Project," which provides education, promotion, and counseling mainly in industrial complexes, will also be launched.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Younghoon said, "As a culture of shared caregiving spreads and the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises is eased, the use of these programs is expanding," adding, "We will continue to improve the system based on feedback from the field so that working parents can use it without hesitation."