South Korean Workers Face Barriers to Parental and Maternity Leave
Quick Look
- A survey in South Korea reveals that nearly half of workers, especially contract employees and those at small companies, cannot freely use parental leave or reduced hours for childcare.
- Female contract workers face the highest difficulty, while male workers and senior managers report easier access.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
A survey commissioned by civic group Gapjil 119 found that many South Korean workers face significant barriers to utilizing parental and maternity leave benefits, with contract workers and those at smaller companies experiencing the most difficulty.
Nearly half of South Korean workers are unable to freely take parental leave or use reduced working hours for childcare, a survey showed Sunday.
According to the survey conducted on 1,000 office workers aged 19 and older from June 1 to 9, 46.7 percent of respondents said they could not freely take parental leave.
The survey was commissioned by Gapjil 119, a civic group dedicated to stamping out power abuse by people in higher positions, and conducted by polling agency Global Research.
In the survey, contract workers reported greater difficulty than full-time employees, with 62.3 percent saying they could not freely take parental leave, compared with 36.3 percent reported among permanent employees.
More than 68 percent of employees at workplaces with fewer than five employees said they faced difficulties using such a leave, compared to 30.5 percent working at larger companies with 300 or more employees.
Notably, the figure climbed to 70.2 percent for female contract workers.
Over 41 percent of respondents also said they could not freely take maternity leave.
In contrast, male workers and senior managers, who tend to use the maternity and parental leave programs less frequently, were more likely to say they could freely use both benefits.
Gapjil 119 said the effectiveness of such workplace policies depends on company size, employment status, wage levels and other working conditions, and stressed the need to foster a workplace culture in which maternity leave and parental leave can be freely used.
Open Questions
- What specific policy recommendations will Gapjil 119 propose?
- How will the South Korean government address these disparities in leave access?
- What are the specific challenges faced by small companies in granting parental leave?
