1 in 3 Parental Leave Takers are Men... 'Flexible Work Hours for Childcare' to be Introduced Next Year

Number of Parental Leave Benefit Recipients Surpasses Annual Total for Last Year by September

Men taking parental leave (CG) [Provided by Yonhap News TV]

One in three parental leave users this year were men, data shows.

The government plans to further expand the use of parental leave by introducing measures next year, such as the 'Flexible Work Hours for Childcare' system, which allows parents to reduce their daily working hours by one hour without a pay cut to care for their children.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 28th that the number of parental leave benefit recipients from January to September this year was 141,909, a 37.0% increase compared to the same period last year (103,596). By last month, the number of recipients had already surpassed the total annual recipients for last year (132,535).

The number of male parental leave benefit recipients this year was 52,279, accounting for 36.8% of the total. This is a 4.7 percentage point increase from the 32.1% rate for fathers last year.

The number of parental leave benefit recipients in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was 82,620 (58.2%), a 1.2 percentage point increase from 57.0% in the same period the previous year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor expanded support this year by increasing parental leave benefits from a maximum of 1.5 million won per month to 2.5 million won, and extending the parental leave period from one year to one year and six months if both parents use it for more than three months.

Starting next year, the 'Flexible Work Hours for Childcare' system will be introduced, providing employers with 300,000 won per month to support employees who reduce their daily working hours by one hour for childcare without a pay reduction.

The subsidy for employers who hire replacement workers for parental leave and maternity leave will be increased from 1.2 million won per month to 1.4 million won per month for businesses with fewer than 30 employees, and 1.3 million won per month for businesses with 30 or more employees.

The subsidy for employers who provide financial support to colleagues who share parental leave duties will be increased from 200,000 won per month to 400,000 to 600,000 won per month. Application procedures will also be simplified.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to establish a 'Work-Life Balance Network Building and Operation Project' (tentative name) to prevent cases where people cannot use the system due to lack of awareness, and will hold explanatory sessions in areas with a high concentration of SMEs.

Im Young-mi, Director-General of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "The expansion of male parental leave is an indicator that the culture of work-life balance in our society is maturing, beyond simple statistics," adding, "We will continue to strengthen support so that employees in SMEs can also utilize the system without burden." Yonhap News

Key measures to strengthen support for work-life balance in 2026 [Provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Resale and database prohibited.]