South Korean men made up one-third of all childcare leave takers in the first half of this year, marking a historic milestone as their share exceeds 30 percent for the first time, according to labour data released.

A total of 69,631 employees received their first childcare leave allowance from the national employment insurance programme during the January-June period, marking an increase of 3.2 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Labour Ministry statistics, (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Ministry of Employment and Labor

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) Yonhap news agency reported.

‘South Korea sees a surge in dads taking #childcare leave! The expanded national allowance for couples sharing #parental duties is paying off. #worklifebalance #parenthood #SouthKorea’
      

Male Proportion of Childcare Leave Takers Surpasses 30% for the First Time

Of them, men accounted for 22,460 employees, representing a 15.7 percent increase from the same period last year, while women numbered 47,171, marking a 1.8 percent decline. The change increased the male proportion to 32.3 percent, or nearly 1 in 3 employees on childcare leave, marking the first time the male share has surpassed the 30 percent threshold.

The corresponding male share was 8.7 percent in 2016 and had since steadily increased to 13.4 percent in 2017, 21.2 percent in 2019, 26.2 percent in 2021 and 28.9 percent in 2022 before slightly retreating to 28 percent last year.

In the first half of this year, male workers on childcare leave in large companies with 1,000 or more employees made up 43.5 percent, while the corresponding proportion was 22.7 percent in small firms with fewer than 100 employees.

Reference:

1. Ministry of Employment and Labor – (https://www.moel.go.kr/english/resources/statistics.do)

Source-IANS