Sim Sang-jung "Still Only 1 in 5 Takes Parental Leave... Guaranteeing 'Nationwide Parental Leave' by 2026"

'Automatic Parental Leave System' Legislation
Improvement to Allow Split Use of Reduced Working Hours for Childcare Up to 3 Years
Maternity Leave Extended from 90 to 120 Days
"No More Empty Words on Low Birthrate... Creating a Country Where Moms, Dads, and Children Are Happy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, announced on the 30th that she would "introduce a nationwide parental leave system to eliminate blind spots in parental leave."

On this day, at a press conference at the National Assembly to announce childcare pledges, Candidate Sim said, "Starting in 2023, alongside the introduction of nationwide employment insurance, we will expand the scope of parental leave to include platform workers, special employment workers, and self-employed individuals, and by 2026, we will guarantee the parental leave rights of all working citizens."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

To this end, Candidate Sim promised to first clarify the state's responsibility for the parental leave and maternity leave accounts within the employment insurance fund.

She also emphasized that she would increase the usage rate of parental leave by making 'parental leave benefits' more realistic. Candidate Sim said, "The core is to enable parental leave, which is currently concentrated in the initial 3 months (6 months combined for couples), to be properly used for at least 1 year (2 years combined for parents)," adding, "We will raise the income replacement rate of parental leave benefits to 80% of the ordinary wage and extend the payment period to one year." The current upper limit of 1.5 million KRW will be increased to 2.85 million KRW, which is 1.5 times the 2022 minimum wage, and the lower limit will be abolished. She also plans to abolish the system of paying 25% of the benefits after returning to work six months after leave and ensure proper income support during the income reduction period.

Along with this, she proposed a 'Parental Leave Dad Quota System' to realize equal parenting.

Candidate Sim stated, "We will introduce a 'Parental Leave Dad Quota System' that requires couples to use parental leave for at least 3 months during the parental leave period and legislate an 'automatic parental leave system.'"

Additionally, she pledged to improve the reduced working hours system during childcare to allow it to be used in installments for up to 3 years, immediately extend maternity leave from 90 days to 120 days, and increase the spouse's paternity leave from the current 10 days of paid leave to 30 days.

To ensure that companies and workers can use these parental leave systems without worrying about substitute personnel, she plans to establish and operate a national-level 'Substitute Personnel Support Center.' Candidate Sim said, "We will create a 'Substitute Personnel Equality Allowance' that pays 1.5 times the existing parental leave salary to substitute personnel to support the smooth supply of substitute workers."

She also encouraged active participation from companies. Candidate Sim announced that if unfair treatment or discriminatory practices occur due to parental leave, measures such as wage compensation and payment of damages will be enforced, and supervision and management will be significantly strengthened. For companies actively implementing parental leave, incentives will be enhanced by raising the parental leave support fund for small and medium enterprises (1.2 million KRW for 2 months, 800,000 KRW for 10 months) to 1.5 million KRW per month.

Candidate Sim pointed out, "The parental leave system was introduced alongside democratization in 1987, and the parental leave system for parents was introduced 20 years ago under the People's Government, but still only one in five parents uses parental leave," adding, "We cannot change a parental leave system that benefits only a few while merely paying lip service to low birth rates and patching together various policies."

She emphasized, "The four-day workweek pledge is also to create a society where working people are happy," and added, "We will build a country where mothers and fathers are happy and children are happy."

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