Parental leave falls at chipmakers amid promises of hefty bonuses
Parental leave rates fell at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix as employees sought to avoid missing potentially massive performance bonuses during the recent semiconductor boom.
The logos of Korean chipmakers Samsung Electronics, left, and SK hynix
YONHAP
The semiconductor supercycle is causing employees forgo their parental leave to secure the hefty performance bonuses that have been promised to company staff.
Samsung Electronics’ parental leave rate in the first half of 2026 stood at 35.5 percent of employees who had a child born this year, according to semiannual and annual reports filed with the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system as of Sunday. The figure was down 0.7 percentage points from 36.2 percent during the same period last year.
The rate among male employees fell to 11.2 percent from 12.4 percent in the first half of last year, while the rate among female employees dropped to 88.2 percent from 94.3 percent during the same period.
SK hynix recorded a parental leave rate of 3.2 percent in the first half among employees with children of elementary school age or younger, down 0.8 percentage points from 4 percent during the same period last year. The rate for male employees fell to 0.7 percent from 1.3 percent, while the rate for female employees declined to 8.9 percent from 10.1 percent.
This is the first time that parental leave rates at both companies, two of Korea’s largest corporations known for offering favorable work-life balance, have fallen during the same period.
Samsung Electronics’ parental leave rate had been on the rise around the 2024 introduction of the work-life balance disclosure system, which mandates companies to disclose information on parental leave, flexible work arrangements and other policies. The rate rose from 34.5 percent in 2022 to 37.4 percent in 2023 and 39.5 percent in 2024. It edged down to 38.1 percent last year and continued to decline in the first half of this year.
SK hynix’s rate rose from 7.8 percent in 2022 to 8.2 percent in 2023 before falling to 6.6 percent in 2024. It rebounded slightly to 6.9 percent last year before dropping again in the first half of this year.
Some assess the current trend as employees choosing not to take parental leave in order to avoid missing out on record performance bonuses amid a semiconductor boom.
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix previously reached agreements with their respective labor unions to pay performance bonuses equivalent to 10 percent and 10.5 percent of operating profit, respectively, without a cap.
Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor performance has improved sharply since the second half of last year, as its operating profit this year is projected to exceed 350 trillion won ($258 billion). Performance bonuses for employees in its semiconductor division are projected to range from at least 200 million won to more than 600 million won.
SK hynix has also shown a pattern in which stronger earnings coincide with lower parental leave rates.
In 2023, when the company swung to an operating loss approaching 8 trillion won, its parental leave rate exceeded 8 percent, the highest level in the period cited. In contrast, the rate remained in the 6 percent range for two consecutive years in 2024 and last year, when annual operating profit surged to around 23 trillion won and 47 trillion won, respectively.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]
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.
