Parents with children under 18 months on joint leave to get full pay for 6months

[Image source: Pixabay]

South Korea plans to adopt a proposed bill provides parents with children under 18 months of age to receive 100 percent of their regular wages for six months when they take joint leave for childcare.

Under the current paid leave scheme implemented last year, couples with a child under 12 months old can receive 100 percent of their regular salary for the first three months when they take parental leave simultaneously or in sequence within a given period.

Although the scheme has contributed to an increase in the number of men taking parental leave, with a rise from 21.2 percent in 2019 to 28.9 percent in 2022, the majority of leave takers, around 70 percent, are women.

To give more benefits to working parents, the government will extend the paid leave for full pay to six months from the current three months and the age eligibility for child to 18 months old.

According to the bill, the pay cap will increase up to 4.5 million won ($3,340.76) per month from the current 3 million won.

The bill, part of the government’s initiative to boost birthrates, will go into effect as early as next January.