Priority Allocation of Rental Apartments for Parental Leave and Childcare Public Officials... Expansion of Interest-Free Loans

Promotion and Evaluation, Childcare Environment Improvement Recommendations
Part of Low Birthrate Measures... Encouraging Expansion in the Private Sector

On the 21st, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that as part of measures to address low birth rates, it recommended allocating a certain percentage of public officials' rental housing units to those with short public service careers who have childcare and parenting responsibilities.

Kim Tae-gyu, Vice Chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Kim Taegyu, Vice Chairman of the Commission, stated at a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul on the same day, “We have redesigned the tenant evaluation criteria, including extending the maximum rental housing residence period to 10 years,” and added, “We will significantly ease housing cost burdens by proposing measures such as lowering loan interest rates, implementing interest-free loans, and increasing the loan limit by 100 million won.”

According to data from the Government Employees Pension Service, as of the end of last year, there were 1,279 tenants in their 20s in public officials' rental housing, accounting for only 7.2% of all tenants. The Commission viewed the current allocation criteria for public officials' rental housing as disadvantageous to younger generations who have shorter public service careers, shorter periods of being without a home, and weaker financial capacity.

The Commission recommended institutional improvements to enhance the effectiveness of childcare leave and parenting systems for public officials to the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Government Employees Pension Service. In the areas of promotion and evaluation, incentives were proposed such as granting the same or higher performance evaluation grades upon return from childcare leave. This measure aims to eliminate entrenched disadvantages such as assigning lower grades or excluding returnees from promotion reviews and partially excluding leave periods from transfer restriction periods.

In the financial sector, the childcare leave allowance was recommended to be significantly increased to the level of the basic salary and the payment period extended. The payment system was also to be improved to provide the full childcare leave allowance during the leave period. Additionally, the actual application of health insurance premium payment deferrals and the reasons for limiting performance bonus payments were to be clarified. Under the current system, salaries are paid during maternity leave, but are suspended during childcare leave, with only the childcare leave allowance paid for one year. Some of the allowance is paid retroactively after returning to work, which increases the economic burden on childcare leave takers, making parenting practically difficult.

In the childcare environment sector, the criteria for securing substitute personnel were relaxed from the current 6 months to 3 months, and it was proposed to actively utilize mid- and lower-level staff and retired personnel with field experience who can be immediately deployed to frontline sites. Measures to improve the return and transfer environment for childcare obligors were suggested, including strengthening prior guidance on return procedures and prioritizing placement in desired departments. Family-friendly childcare and work environment measures were also to be developed, such as extending the usage period for childcare time and securing parking spaces exclusively for childcare obligors.

Vice Chairman Kim said, “Low birth rates are no longer just an issue for certain individuals but a matter that the government and the private sector must jointly consider and resolve,” and added, “We hope these institutional improvements will be promptly reflected.”

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