Lotte Department Store Expands 'Men's Automatic Parental Leave' to 3 Months... Up to 600,000 KRW for Colleagues Covering Duties

First Major Corporation to Extend Paternity Leave Period
Proactive System Reform Aligned with Legal Amendment on the 23rd of Last Month
Up to 600,000 KRW Paid to Substitutes Over Three Months

Lotte Department Store announced on the 4th that it will expand the "automatic paternity leave" period for male employees to 3 months, becoming the first large corporation to do so.

The automatic paternity leave system is a childcare support measure that requires male employees to take a mandatory one-month leave following the birth of their spouse's child. Since Lotte Group first introduced this system in 2017 as the first large corporation, it has been regarded as a model case of corporate welfare policies addressing low birth rates and childcare issues.

Lotte Department Store Main Branch, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Provided by Lotte Department Store

Starting from the 23rd of last month, Lotte Department Store proactively reformed its parental leave system within the group just ten days after the legal amendment extended the statutory parental leave period from one year to one and a half years. According to the revised law, for couples to apply the extended statutory parental leave of 6 months, both parents must use at least 3 months of parental leave for a specific child, or be a single parent or a parent of a child with severe disabilities. Accordingly, Lotte Department Store increased the automatic paternity leave period to 3 months in line with the revised law’s conditions to enhance its effectiveness.

The recent reform of Lotte Department Store’s system also includes work innovation plans to minimize the burden of taking leave. During the automatic paternity leave period of male employees, the department will prepare for work gaps by hiring new personnel or providing work delegation allowances to substitutes. The substitutes will receive up to 600,000 KRW per person, distributed over 3 months.

In fact, the usage rate of automatic paternity leave at Lotte Department Store is currently 100%. Since the system’s implementation in 2017, a cumulative total of 501 male employees have taken parental leave up to last year.

With the recent legal amendment, the age condition for children under the company’s parental leave system has also been relaxed, allowing female employees with children aged 12 or younger to extend their parental leave and vacation, including maternity leave and holidays, up to a maximum of 4 years and 6 months.

Jung Junho, CEO of Lotte Department Store, said, "Balancing work and family is the most important theme that companies must strive for," adding, "We plan to continue creating a great workplace through innovative childcare support policies."

Joonho Jung, CEO of Lotte Department Store. Provided by Lotte Department Store

Meanwhile, besides innovating the parental leave system, Lotte Department Store operates differentiated childcare welfare programs that support work-family balance, such as "Our Child’s First Step Leave," which provides 2 days of paid leave when a child enters daycare or kindergarten; "Expectant Father’s Fetal Checkup Leave," allowing male employees to accompany their spouses for fetal checkups; "Prenatal Travel," supporting a 1-night, 2-day stay at affiliated resorts; and support for prenatal examination costs, infertility leave, and infertility treatment expenses for married employees and their spouses.

Due to these efforts, Lotte Department Store has received family-friendly company certification six consecutive times, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Award for the Asia Gender Equality Index (2023), selection as the Best Family-Friendly Company by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (2024), the Presidential Citation for Gender Equality from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (2024), and the BPW Gold Award (2025), among others.

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