Seocho-gu, the First Autonomous District in Seoul to Offer 'Dad's Parental Leave Incentive (300,000 KRW per Month)': The Reason Behind It?

If male employment insurance beneficiaries residing in the area for over one year take parental leave, they will receive 300,000 KRW monthly support for up to one year... Expected to reduce women's childcare burden and increase birth rates in the long term

Jo Eun-hee, Seocho District Mayor

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seocho-gu, the only autonomous district that led an increase in the total fertility rate, is once again delivering good news with its leading childcare policies.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Cho Eun-hee) announced that starting this year, employed men who have lived in the district for more than one year and are covered by employment insurance will receive a monthly support of 300,000 KRW for up to one year when taking paternity leave.

Accordingly, men who take paternity leave after January 1 of this year can bring the ‘Paternity Leave Pay Decision Notice’ issued by the Employment Center and apply for the benefit through the Seocho-gu website, local community service centers, or the district family policy department.

Among the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, Seocho-gu is the only one providing this incentive. The district made this decision because, despite a social atmosphere encouraging men to take paternity leave, many men face numerous practical obstacles when actually trying to use their leave.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, more than half (56.7%) of men who took paternity leave last year worked at companies with 300 or more employees, showing a difference in leave usage rates depending on company size. This suggests that various leave-related systems, such as reduced pay and concerns about reinstatement, have not been properly established in small and medium-sized enterprises except for large corporations.

Accordingly, the most concerning issue revealed by a Gallup Korea survey is ‘income reduction.’ Families feeling the burden of ‘income reduction’ face the reality where fathers who take leave have no choice but to consider early return to work.

To help solve these practical problems, the district decided to provide an incentive of up to 3.6 million KRW per year. Furthermore, to legalize this, Seocho-gu became the first in the nation to enact the ‘Seocho-gu Dad Paternity Leave Incentive Payment Ordinance’ in July 2018.

The district expects these efforts to reduce childcare burdens on women and, in the long term, positively affect the fertility rate. An increase in men’s paternity leave will accelerate women’s return to work, thereby reducing burdens such as career breaks and sole childcare for women.

The district anticipates that establishing this proper childcare culture will serve as a catalyst for increasing the fertility rate in the future.

Dad childcare program 'Seocho Friendaddy' clay making (modeling clay) activity scene

Seocho-gu Mayor Cho Eun-hee said, “The Dad Paternity Leave Incentive will be like a refreshing rain for men who want to take paternity leave,” adding, “We will do our best this year as well so that all families raising children can smile through various policies suited to reality.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.