SEOUL — For the first time, men accounted for one-third of all employees taking child care leave in the first half of this year, according to recent labor data. This significant increase marks a continued shift towards greater parental involvement among fathers in South Korea.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a total of 69,631 employees availed themselves of their first child care leave allowance through the national employment insurance program from January to June. This reflects a 3.2 percent increase from the same period last year. Notably, 22,460 of these employees were men, which is a 15.7 percent rise from the previous year, contrasting with a 1.8 percent decline in women taking leave, totaling 47,171.
This shift has brought the male proportion of employees on child care leave to 32.3 percent, nearly one in three, surpassing the 30 percent threshold for the first time. The increase is particularly marked in large companies, where 43.5 percent of the male workers on child care leave were from firms with over 1,000 employees, while the rate was 22.7 percent in smaller firms with fewer than 100 employees.
The rising trend in men taking child care leave has been attributed to this year's expansion of the national allowance for couples taking leave simultaneously, encouraging more fathers to participate actively in early child-rearing responsibilities.