Seoul City Introduces 'Seoul-style Parental Leave Incentive' for the First Time

Applications Start from the 1st of Next Month

Seoul City announced on the 15th that it will begin accepting applications for the ‘Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive’ starting from the 1st of next month, aimed at working parents who take parental leave to raise their children with their own hands as part of the Mom and Dad Happiness Project.

The ‘Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive’ is a newly launched parental leave encouragement policy following Seoul City’s ‘Seoul Work-Life Balance Triple Set’ introduced last June to create a culture where working moms and dads can take parental leave without hesitation. It is a flagship project of the ‘Mom and Dad Happiness Project’ to make Seoul a child-rearing friendly city.

Seoul City explained the purpose of the project by stating, “The solution to the low birthrate problem is to create an environment where moms and dads can directly raise their children,” and “To overcome the low birthrate crisis, the Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive was introduced to activate the use of parental leave by both parents so that caregivers can take care of their children.”

In particular, Seoul City designed the policy so that not only men (dads) but also both moms and dads can receive the parental leave incentive, marking the first time nationwide to prevent career interruptions for women, who still remain the primary caregivers.

The ‘Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive’ provides up to 1.2 million KRW per person to support income reduction due to parental leave, and up to 2.4 million KRW per household if both parents take parental leave separately.

The eligibility criteria for applying for the ‘Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive’ are: ▲having used parental leave and received parental leave benefits consecutively for 6 months or more since January 2023 after enrolling in employment insurance, ▲household income at or below 150% of the median income (based on the applicant’s health insurance premium payment), and ▲both parents must have been continuously registered as residents in Seoul for at least one year as of the application date.

Applications can be submitted through the comprehensive childbirth and childcare portal ‘From Birth to Childcare’ Mongttang Information Master Key, which is scheduled to open by the 1st of next month.

When applying for the incentive, applicants must submit ▲resident registration certificate, ▲health and long-term care insurance premium payment confirmation, ▲parental leave benefit decision notice, ▲parental leave confirmation, ▲copy of bankbook, and ▲personal information consent form. Additional documents may be required depending on the situation and can be guided through the local community service center.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul City Women and Family Policy Office, said, “The causes of low birthrate are diverse, but one cause is the fear of career interruption due to childcare, leading to giving up marriage and childbirth,” adding, “As we launch the ‘Seoul-type Parental Leave Incentive’ system to create a social atmosphere where parental leave can be taken without hesitation and to support income reduction due to parental leave so that work and childcare can be balanced, we hope many people will actively apply.”

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