Home > National > Social Affairs

Number of men on parental leave pass 60,000 for the first time, signaling successful policy reforms

Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 19:36 Updated: 17 Dec. 2025, 20:21

A caregiver and children are seen in front of a daycare center in Seoul on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]

Three in 10 parents who took parental leave in Korea last year were fathers, with the number of male parental leave users surpassing 60,000 for the first time, according to government data released on Wednesday. The increase is attributed in part to policy reforms aimed at encouraging fathers to take time off for their children.

A total of 206,226 people went on parental leave in 2024 — up 4 percent, or 8,008 people, from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics' latest data. This was the highest figure since data collection began in 2010. Among them, 60,117 were men, meaning that fathers accounted for 29.2 percent of all parental leave users, up 3.5 percentage points from the year before. Meanwhile, the number of women on parental leave fell by 0.9 percent, or 1,294 people, to 146,109.

The Data Ministry defines a parental leave user as a working parent who took parental leave that year to care for a child under the age of eight or in second grade or below.

One such parent was Park, a team leader at a public agency, whose daughter was born last year. He took a yearlong parental leave in August, joining his wife, who started her own leave of absence in May. Although taking an extended leave was a burden, the couple decided it was more important to care for their newborn together.

“We were worried about our finances, but the increased benefits for couples who take parental leave at the same time made [our situation] possible,” Park said. “More and more fathers at work are taking parental leave. The culture is changing.”

Visitors to a kids' fair are seen at EXCO in Daegu on Dec. 4. [NEWS1]

The number of parents taking parental leave in the same year their child was born also increased. In 2024, 96,810 parents took a leave of absence in the year their child was born — up 9.7 percent, or 8,542 people, from the previous year.

The number of fathers in this group also jumped by 40 percent, or 4,881 people, to 17,074. The parental leave usage rate among new parents rose to 34.7 percent, a 1.7 percentage point increase.

In particular, the usage rate among fathers reached 10.2 percent — the first time it surpassed 10 percent. This rate has steadily climbed from just 0.6 percent in 2015. By contrast, the usage rate among mothers fell one percentage point to 72.2 percent.

“The increase in paternal leave has partially offset a decline in maternal leave,” a Data Ministry official said.

A parent and child are seen at a daycare center in Seoul on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]

One major factor behind the rise in fathers taking parental leave was a policy reform. In 2024, the government expanded the “3+3 Parental Leave System” — which paid 100 percent of ordinary wages for three months to both parents who took a leave of absence together — to the “6+6 Parental Leave System.”

The policy expanded eligibility from children under 12 months to those under 18 months and increased the monthly salary cap from between 2 million and 3 million won ($1,350 to $2,030) to between 2 million and 4.5 million won.

Despite the overall increase, parental leave use remained concentrated in large companies and the public sector. Last year, 67.9 percent of male and 57.7 percent of female leave users worked for companies with 300 or more employees.

The parental leave usage rate at firms with 300 or more employees was 38.7 percent, compared to 34.3 percent at firms with 50 to 299 employees and 32.6 percent at firms with five to 49 employees. The public sector continued to show a higher usage rate than the private sector.

Children are seen during a field trip at a park in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul, on July 21. [YONHAP]

“While quantitative indicators such as the number of leave users have improved, disparities between industries are widening, with large corporations [...] improving, and small and midsize manufacturers falling behind,” said Lee Sang-rim, a chief researcher at Seoul National University’s Population Policy Research Center. “There needs to be greater social support to prevent polarization in parental leave.”

Separately, data tracking parents of children born in 2015 who had only one child through last year showed that 83.8 percent of mothers took a leave of absence when the child was an infant.

In contrast, fathers were more likely to take leave when their children were older: 18 percent when the child was six and 15.4 percent at age seven.

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.
BY JANG WON-SEOK [[email protected]]