Kim Tae-jin, Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member, Proposes 'Paternity Leave Incentive Support Ordinance'

The Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Council announced on the 16th that the "Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Father Parental Leave Encouragement Subsidy Support Ordinance (hereinafter referred to as the ordinance)," which was proposed by Councilor Kim Tae-jin (Progressive Party) during the 321st extraordinary session, has been passed in the plenary session.

According to Councilor Kim Tae-jin, "The number of male workers taking parental leave in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City decreased from 142 in 2022 to 98 in 2023, and the father parental leave rate fell from 24.7% in 2022 to 18.9% in 2023."

Accordingly, this ordinance includes provisions to provide subsidies to male workers residing in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City who apply for parental leave, in order to improve the work-family balance and child-rearing environment.

The support targets male parental leave workers who meet the conditions for receiving parental leave benefits under the Employment Insurance Act, have resided in Seo-gu for more than one year as of the application date, and whose children are also registered residents in Seo-gu.

In particular, since this subsidy is paid separately and does not overlap with the existing parental leave allowance, it is expected to contribute to minimizing the economic burden on families that may arise from male workers taking leave.

Councilor Kim said, "Although the ordinance has been enacted, the budget has not yet been allocated. We will strive to ensure that the father parental leave encouragement subsidy can be paid starting next year," and added, "We will do our best to make Seo-gu, Gwangju a leader in establishing a culture of gender-equal child-rearing."

Shin Dong-ho, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy bless4ya@asiae.co.kr

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