South Korea Plans to Increase Both Maternity & Paternity Leave to 18 Months

Many people are now actively choosing not to have children and one of the main reasons is that they simply do not have the time or money to raise a child.

In South Korea, the birth rate has been declining throughout the years and in 2022, it has dropped to a record low of  0.81.

In order to combat that, the South Korean government is trying to entice couples to have more children by having programmes that will ease parenthood.

In the latest on this matter, South Korea’s Department of Labor Minister Lee Jeong-sik recently submitted a plan to cope with the extremely low birth rate as reported Yonhap News Agency.

The plan is to increase parental leave for both working parents from 12 months to up to 18 months. It will also allow parents to take parental leave up until their child is 12 years old.

Adding on to that, they are also looking at shorter working hours for parents who are responsible for childcare.

If this plan is passed, South Korean men will receive the longest paid paternity leave in the world.

In Malaysia’s case, new mothers are to receive 98 days of maternity leave while new fathers are only allowed a total of 7 paternity leaves.

With men being more involved in childcare, do you think that the number of paternity leaves should be increased? We believe so, but what about you? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Also read:  “60 days is enough!” – Maternity Leave of 98 Days Will Commence in Jan 2023 But M’sians Are Unhappy