South Korea expected to pass a bill to increase length of parental leave

Seoul, Sep 23 (IANS) The National Assembly in South Korea is expected to pass a bill this week increasing the maximum length of parental leave from two years to three years, a ruling party official said on Monday.

Rep. Kim Sang-hoon, chief policymaker of the People Power Party, said during a party meeting that the ruling and opposition parties are negotiating a revision to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, with the aim of passing it during a plenary session on Thursday, Yonhap news agency reported.

Under the revision, the length of parental leave will be increased from a total of two years to a total of three years, with each parent allowed to take a leave of up to one and a half years, while the total duration will be divisible into three parts instead of two.

The revision will also expand the number of vacation days for fathers after the birth of their child from 10 days to 20 days and ease the criteria for parents working reduced hours by raising the age threshold for children from 8 to 12.

"As we are close to an agreement with the opposition party, it will have to be passed by agreement during the plenary session on the 26th without much difficulty," Kim said.

South Korea has been introducing various incentives to try to boost the country's ultra-low birth rate.

In 2023, the country's total fertility rate, or the average number of children expected to be born to a woman over her lifetime, reached a record low of 0.72.

The figure is far below the 2.1 births per woman needed to maintain a stable population without immigration.

Data from Statistics Korea showed that the country’s population peaked in 2020 and has been on a decline. The country's population is projected to come to 36 million in 2072, down 30.8 per cent from this year's 52 million, Yonhap reported.

--IANS