🚨 Parental Leave

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2026.04.15

0️⃣ The Law Guarantees It, But the Workplace Blocks It — A Blind Spot Repeating for 4 Years

📌 45% of Workers Say Parental Leave Is Hard to Use… Gap Between Large and Small Workplaces Is More Than Double

💬 A survey of 1,000 workers by the civic group Workplace Bullying 119 found that 45.2% said it was hard to use parental leave, and 40.4% said the same about maternity leave. These numbers have stayed between 40% and 50% for four years since 2023, showing that the gap between the law and reality is not closing. There is more than a double difference between large companies with 300 or more employees (30.8%) and workplaces with fewer than 5 employees (66.9%). The results drew extra attention after reports that a manager at Kakao compared parental leave users to "scrapped cars" and pressured employees on the timing of their leave. The civic group is calling for stronger penalties for employers who violate the law and more support for small workplaces.

💡 Summary

• Parental leave is a legal right that employers are required by law to allow.
• Despite this, nearly half of all workers feel it is hard to use in practice, and this rate has not improved for four years.
• The problem is worse at smaller workplaces, with a lack of replacement workers and a culture of silent pressure as the key causes.

1️⃣ Definition

Parental leave is a right protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, which allows workers to take time off from work to care for a child aged 8 or younger, or in second grade or below. Each parent can take up to one year per child, so a couple can take up to two years in total.

Simply put, it is the right to take a break from work without losing your job when you have or need to care for a child, while receiving part of your salary. If an employer refuses to allow it or treats an employee unfairly because of it, the employer can face a fine of up to 5 million won or up to three years in prison.

💡 Why does this matter?

• Parental leave is a right, not a privilege. Even though the law makes it mandatory, employers in practice still refuse it or pressure workers against using it.
• With Korea's serious low birth rate problem, if parents cannot freely take parental leave, it becomes one more reason people choose not to have children at all.
• The large gap between large and small workplaces means workers at smaller companies cannot enjoy the same rights — a structural inequality.
• A law that exists but cannot be used in practice is the same as having no law at all, making stronger enforcement essential.

2️⃣ Current Situation and Key Issues

📕 The Gap Between Law and Reality

• The rate of workers saying leave is hard to use has stayed at 40–50% for four years. Key facts are as follows.

  • In the 2026 survey, 45.2% said parental leave was hard to use, and 40.4% said the same for maternity leave.
  • This rate has barely changed since 2023, showing that policy improvements are not reaching workers on the ground.
  • Cases where workers gave up on their own out of fear of refusal or retaliation are not captured in the data, so the real situation may be even worse.
  • Recent reports of a manager at a large company using degrading language about parental leave users sparked widespread public anger.

• The gap between large and small workplaces is clear. Key numbers are as follows.

  • At large companies with 300 or more employees, 30.8% said parental leave was hard to use.
  • At workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, the figure was 66.9% — more than double.
  • At smaller workplaces, it is harder for labor inspectors to enforce the law and for penalties to take effect in a meaningful way.
  • Workers have the same legal rights, but where they work determines how much of those rights they can actually enjoy.

📕 Pressure Culture and the Replacement Worker Problem

• The lack of replacement workers is the structural cause of the pressure culture. Key problems are as follows.

  • The government provides subsidies to employers who hire replacement workers during parental leave.
  • However, even with subsidies, small workplaces find it difficult to manage job postings, handovers, and training for replacement staff.
  • In a workplace where one person's absence shifts the workload to colleagues, it is hard for individuals to assert their rights.
  • As seen in the "scrapped car" incident, some workplace cultures still treat parental leave as a negative or burdensome thing.

• Legal penalties are not being applied in practice. Key issues are as follows.

  • Refusing parental leave or retaliating against workers for taking it is clearly illegal, but few cases lead to formal complaints and penalties.
  • Many affected workers stay silent because they fear that filing a complaint will lead to dismissal or other retaliation.
  • There are not enough labor inspectors, and it is difficult to prove a violation when employers cite "operational needs" as the reason for refusal.
  • Some experts say the focus should shift from punishment to prevention and support.

💡 Key Issues in the Parental Leave Blind Spot

1. Gap between law and reality: A mandatory right, yet nearly half of workers say they cannot use it — unchanged for four years
2. Workplace size gap: Workers at small workplaces face structural inequality in accessing the same legal rights
3. Replacement worker shortage: Subsidies exist, but small workplaces still find it hard to make use of them
4. Weak enforcement: Penalties exist for violations, but low complaint rates and difficulty of proof limit their effect
5. Workplace culture: Before the law can work, the culture of the workplace itself must stop treating parental leave as a burden

3️⃣ Directions for Improvement

✅ Stronger Penalties and Better Oversight

• Real consequences for employers who break the law are needed. Key directions are as follows.
  • The penalties for refusing parental leave or retaliating against workers must be raised, and the system must be built so violations actually lead to detection and prosecution.
  • The number of labor inspectors and their authority must be expanded so that even small workplaces are effectively monitored.
  • Whistleblower protection must be strengthened so that affected workers can file complaints without fear of retaliation.
  • Anonymous reporting channels should be made more accessible, and outcomes should be made public in a transparent way.

✅ More Support for Small Workplaces

• Support systems must be redesigned to fit the reality of small workplaces. Key tasks are as follows.
  • Beyond hiring subsidies, practical support such as handover consulting and work-sharing platforms should be provided.
  • New approaches such as shared replacement worker pools for workplaces with fewer than 5 employees should be considered.
  • A balance must be found that acknowledges the burden on small business owners while still ensuring workers' rights are protected.
  • Expanding parental leave pay support can reduce the burden on employers and make the system easier to accept.

✅ Improving Workplace Culture and Awareness

• The workplace culture must change, even before the law takes full effect. Key directions are as follows.
  • Incentives should be given to workplaces that actively encourage parental leave and support workers returning from leave.
  • Both parents should be encouraged to use parental leave, to move away from a structure where the burden falls on one gender.
  • Education and awareness campaigns should be run to change how managers and executives think about parental leave.
  • When fathers use parental leave more, the culture where only mothers feel pressure will naturally improve as well.

4️⃣ Key Terms Explained

🔎 Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act

• This is the law that provides the legal basis for parental leave.
  • The full name of the law is the "Act on Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance." It bans dismissal and discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or childcare, and sets out protections including parental leave, maternity leave, and reduced working hours for childcare.
  • When it was first passed in 1987, the focus was mainly on protecting women. Through many revisions since then, it has expanded to formally include fathers' rights to participate in childcare. Today, fathers have the same rights as mothers.
  • If an employer refuses parental leave or dismisses or disadvantages a worker for using it, the employer faces criminal penalties (up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 5 million won). The repeated problem is that even with this law in place, complaints and penalties rarely follow in practice.

🔎 Parental Leave Pay

• This is the income support payment made through employment insurance during parental leave.
  • The payment is based on 80% of ordinary wages. From 2025, the monthly cap for the first three months was raised to 2.5 million won. The "3+3 Parental Leave System" also provides extra support when both parents take parental leave.
  • Because the payment only goes to workers enrolled in employment insurance, workers in non-standard jobs such as freelancers and platform workers often cannot access it — a structural gap in coverage.
  • Since the payment level is lower than actual wages, some workers give up on parental leave due to the financial pressure. Raising parental leave pay to better reflect real wages is an important policy challenge.

🔎 Maternity and Paternity Protection System

• This is a collective term for all policies that protect workers related to pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare.
  • It includes prenatal and postnatal leave (90 days, or 120 days for multiple births), paternity leave (10 days), parental leave (up to one year), reduced working hours for childcare, and reduced hours during pregnancy.
  • The Korean term "mobuseong" (母父性) means protections for both mothers and fathers together. It moves beyond the older "maternal protection" concept to formally recognize fathers' rights to participate in childcare.
  • There are many different types of support in the system, but actual usage rates vary greatly depending on workplace size, making ongoing improvement necessary.

🔎 Labor Law Blind Spots for Workplaces with Fewer Than 5 Employees

• Smaller workplaces are excluded from parts of labor law, leaving workers with weaker protection.
  • Workplaces with fewer than 5 employees are not covered by some provisions of the Labor Standards Act, such as restrictions on dismissal and overtime pay premiums, making them a well-known gap in labor law protection.
  • Parental leave under the Equal Employment Opportunity Act does apply to workplaces with fewer than 5 employees. However, labor inspectors cannot closely monitor every small workplace, and in a setting where a worker and employer work alone together, the fear of retaliation for filing a complaint is very real.
  • Given that 66.9% of workers at workplaces with fewer than 5 employees said parental leave was hard to use in this survey, creating a separate and tailored support system for small workplaces is an urgent priority.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What can I do if my employer refuses to let me take parental leave?

A: You can report it to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, or file a complaint with the local Labor Office.

• Refusing parental leave is a clear violation of the law. You can call the Ministry of Employment and Labor helpline (1350, no area code needed) or visit your nearest local Employment and Labor Office. Anonymous complaints are also accepted.
• If your employer fires you or treats you unfairly because you filed a complaint, that is also a separate violation of the law. It is important to keep a record of any retaliation that follows. You can also seek free advice from civic groups like Workplace Bullying 119. Even if it feels scary to speak up, staying silent only allows the problem to continue.

Q: Can fathers also take parental leave? Are there any extra benefits?

A: Yes, fathers can take up to one year of parental leave on the same terms, and additional benefits are available.

• Parental leave is available to fathers under the same conditions as mothers. A couple can each take up to one year for the same child, for a combined total of up to two years.
• In particular, the "3+3 Parental Leave System" provides a higher monthly pay cap during the first three months when both parents take parental leave, whether at the same time or one after the other. When more fathers use parental leave, the burden that used to fall only on mothers decreases, and workplace culture around parental leave naturally improves as well.

Q: Is there a way to reduce working hours instead of taking full parental leave?

A: Yes, you can use the "Reduced Working Hours for Childcare" system.

• If it is difficult to take full parental leave, or if you find it too much to stop working entirely, you can use the reduced working hours for childcare system. It allows you to work between 15 and 35 hours per week while still caring for your child.
• Employment insurance covers part of your lost wages for the hours you reduce. You can also combine this with parental leave, using them in sequence or together depending on your situation. However, some employers still refuse to allow this system as well, and if that happens, the same complaint and remedy process applies.

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