KT Strengthens In-House Maternity and Childcare Policies... Introduces New Leave for Caring for Elementary School Children

KT announced on the 17th that it is participating in improving the childcare environment for its employees by establishing new in-house systems related to childbirth and parenting.

Last July, an employee at the KT building in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, received a 'Pregnancy Celebration Package' gift from the company and is taking a commemorative photo. Photo by KT View

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First, KT introduced the 'Newborn First Meeting Loan.' Expanding the existing in-house loan system that was operated to help employees prepare housing funds, this new system allows employees to borrow up to 100 million KRW per child at an interest rate of 1% upon the birth of a child.

Considering the increased demand for childcare during school entrance and new semesters, KT also established the 'Elementary School Childcare Leave' for employees with children attending elementary school. Even employees who have used the full two years of parental leave per child can take up to an additional one year of leave.

KT provides a monthly salary of 1.6 million KRW during the second year of parental leave, which was previously unpaid. Earlier, KT had also decided to defer the repayment of principal and interest on in-house loans during parental leave when income decreases.

Employees with children aged 12 or younger, or in up to the 6th grade of elementary school, can reduce their working hours by up to two hours per day. Additionally, parenting employees can split their daily working hours to alternate between office work and remote work.

In the second half of this year, a 370-pyeong (approximately 1,223 square meters) daycare center capable of accommodating about 100 employees’ children will be established in the remodeled Gwanghwamun building. The daycare will include native-speaking instructors and provide dedicated parking spaces for parents.

Members of KT's 'Hi Baby TF' are meeting to establish a new daycare center within the Gwanghwamun building. Photo by KT View

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Since last year, KT has launched and operated a company-wide 'High Baby Task Force (TF)' involving personnel, welfare, compensation, finance, and corporate culture support staff. An employee participating in the TF said, "I am currently raising a 19-month-old child, and I have witnessed the process where employees’ voices to overcome the low birthrate issue gathered and led to institutionalization," adding, "It made me feel that it would be okay to plan for a second child for the first time."

As of 2023, KT’s return-to-work rate after parental leave was 97.2%, and the percentage of employees who worked for more than 12 months after returning was 97.7%. Among all employees on parental leave, four out of ten were male employees.

Ko Chong-rim, KT’s Head of Talent Management (Executive Director), stated, "We will do our best to ensure that our employees, who are the future growth engine of KT, can demonstrate their capabilities and expertise while having and raising children."

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