Expansion of Parental Leave Splitting from 1 to 2 Times Passed by National Assembly Plenary Session

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The number of times workers can split their parental leave is increasing from once to twice.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 19th, the amendment to the Act on Gender Equality in Employment containing this content was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the same day.

The amendment allows parental leave to be split up to twice. Under the Act on Gender Equality in Employment, workers with children under the age of 8 or in the second grade of elementary school can take parental leave for up to one year per child.

The amendment will take effect immediately upon promulgation. The Ministry of Labor expects that workers who need to care for their children due to school attendance restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be able to use parental leave more flexibly.

So far, although the need for child care by parents and work-family balance has increased due to the COVID-19 situation, the number of times parental leave could be split was limited to once, making it difficult to meet the actual childcare demand.

In addition, four bills under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor, including the amendment to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, were passed.

The amendment to the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act establishes grounds for unpaid family workers working with small and medium-sized business owners to enroll in industrial accident insurance, and will be implemented six months after promulgation.

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