A shift in social attitudes towards childrearing and improved benefits have been two factors driving more South Korean dads to take time off work to be with their children. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — More South Korean men are taking paternity leave, but the majority continue to come from large companies, highlighting persistent disparities in access to parental benefits based on workplace size, a new study has found.
According to a report released Sunday by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, men accounted for 24.2 percent of total parental leave recipients in 2023—up from 13.4 percent in 2018—signaling a cultural shift toward greater gender balance in caregiving roles. However, the increase remains unevenly distributed across corporate sizes.
Of the 295,697 individuals who received parental leave benefits in 2023, 71,571 were men. Yet more than 56.7 percent of those male recipients were employed by large companies with over 300 employees, while only 43.3 percent came from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The discrepancy is even more pronounced when compared to employment demographics. While 84.5 percent of young workers are employed at SMEs, only 55.1 percent of all parental leave recipients (regardless of gender) came from these smaller firms—underscoring structural barriers to parental leave in less resourced workplaces.
The report also noted that while the share of male leave-takers in SMEs rose from 10.6 percent in 2018 to 19.0 percent in 2023, large firms saw a sharper increase—from 16.1 percent to 30.5 percent over the same period.
“Despite the encouraging rise in men taking paternity leave, more than half still work at large corporations,” the research team stated. “There’s a clear need for targeted policies to encourage paternity leave in small and medium-sized businesses.”
The findings add urgency to policy discussions as the government looks to expand parental support across the labor market and address work-life balance disparities between different employment sectors.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
