Post: Korea's parental leave benefits average at 44.6 percent of actual wages

The average parental leave benefits in Korea amount to 44.6 percent of actual wages, placing the country near the bottom of the list (17th) among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations in this regard.

Despite the extended parental leave period, the actual utilization rate remains low, particularly affecting low-income workers. Quite strange, isn't it? In a country with extremely low birth rates, low-wage workers don't seem eager to take (extended) paid leave to care for children! A paradox.

In Korea, employees insured for more than 180 days can take up to a year of parental leave for children under the age of 8. The benefits cover 80 percent of their wages, capped between 700,000 won ($524) and 1.5 million won per month.

Though they use it rather reluctantly.

Korea ranks 7th in terms of the duration of parental leave, with countries like Finland (no surprise there), Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, and Estonia ahead. Starting in 2024, Korea will allow parents to take 1.5 years of paid leave with their child. So, why aren't Koreans using their leave?

Out of 100 births, Koreans take 21.4 female and 1.3 male parental leaves, the lowest among the 19 OECD countries sharing this information. Interestingly, wealthier Koreans are more likely to take parental leave; the number of those with salaries over 3 million won who take leave has increased by 2.5 times from 2015 to 2020, while those earning less than 2.1 million won and taking leave decreased by 19 percent.

The answer seems simple: parents with lower incomes are not willing to sacrifice a portion of their income, which they are still losing when taking well-deserved parental leave. Shouldn't the payment threshold be raised, perhaps to the minimum wage level of around 2 million won?