A baby mannequin is on a buggy at the BeFe Babyfair at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Sept. 26, 2024.NEWS1
Starting Aug. 20, Korean workers will be able to take short-term parental leave in one- or two-week increments when they need to care for a sick child or cover child care during school vacations.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved amendments to enforcement decrees governing gender equality in employment and employment insurance. The changes introduce short-term parental leave and expand leave and work-hour options for parents.
The new short-term leave may be taken once a year for reasons including a child’s school or day care center being closed for a vacation or other reason; hospitalization because of illness or an accident; or quarantine or suspension from school because of an infectious disease. Leave can be taken only in increments of seven or 14 days.
The leave counts toward the existing maximum of 18 months of parental leave. But taking short-term leave will not reduce the number of times — currently three — that a worker can split parental leave into separate periods.
Workers can apply for parental-leave benefits after taking seven or 14 days of short-term leave. The benefit will amount to the equivalent of 80 percent to 100 percent of the worker’s ordinary wage, depending on the number of days taken.
Starting Sept. 18, the government will also introduce what it calls a three-part support package for spouses.
Under current rules, men can take parental leave only after their child is born. Under the new system, a man will be able to take parental leave before the birth if his pregnant spouse faces health risks, including a miscarriage or premature birth, and needs care. Workers must apply at least seven days before the planned start of leave.
Paternity leave will also be expanded. Men will be able to take leave from 50 days before their spouse’s expected delivery date through 120 days after the birth.
After a worker submits documentation specifying the expected delivery date and the requested leave dates, an employer must grant 20 days of leave within that period.
A visitor checks out baby products at the 52nd Mom&Baby Expo at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 26.YONHAP
The government will also introduce a new five-day leave for men whose spouses suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth. The first three days will be paid.
Employees of small and medium-sized businesses eligible for government support will receive compensation equivalent to 100 percent of their ordinary wages for the paid portion of the leave, up to 252,630 won ($180), for three days.
The government is also narrowing the circumstances in which employers can reject requests for reduced working hours for child care.
Workers with children 12 or younger, or children in sixth grade or below, can reduce their working hours to between 15 and 35 hours a week for up to one year.
Previously, employers could reject such requests if the employee had worked for less than six months, if the nature of the job made it difficult to divide working hours, if the reduction would seriously disrupt normal business operations or if hiring a replacement was impossible.
But for applications submitted starting Sept. 18, employers will no longer be able to reject a request solely because they cannot hire a replacement.
A Labor Ministry official said the short-term parental leave would allow workers to respond more quickly to temporary child care needs. The expanded support for spouses, the official said, is intended to encourage men to take part in child care and support their partners throughout pregnancy and childbirth.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
