Parental leave and maternity pay in Korea: the complete guide

If you work in Korea and are expecting a child — or planning to — this guide is for you. The short answer: Korea has three overlapping leave entitlements (maternity, paternity and parental), the monthly pay caps were raised sharply in January 2025, and foreign workers covered by employment insurance are eligible on the same terms as Korean nationals.

How it works

Korea’s family leave system has three main layers. Each one comes from a different law and is paid by a different source, so you can receive all three in sequence.

Maternity leave (출산전후휴가, chulsanjeonhu hyuga)

Any employed woman is entitled to 90 consecutive calendar days off around childbirth. At least 45 of those days must fall after the birth. Multiple births extend the entitlement to 120 days, with 60 days guaranteed after delivery. From 23 February 2025, a premature birth adds 10 extra days, raising the total to 100 days.

Pay during maternity leave equals 100 percent of ordinary wage (통상임금, tongsang imgeum — the base contractual pay, excluding bonuses and overtime). For the first 60 days the employer pays. For the final 30 days (45 for multiples), Employment Insurance (고용보험, goyong boheom — the national payroll insurance fund) steps in, up to a cap of ₩2.1 million per 30-day period. At small and medium enterprises classified as preferential-support companies (우선지원대상기업), Employment Insurance covers the entire 90 days up to the same cap.

Paternity leave (배우자 출산휴가, baeuja chulsan hyuga)

Since 23 February 2025, fathers are entitled to 20 paid days off. The leave must start within 120 days of the child’s birth and can be split into up to three separate blocks. For large-company employees, the employer pays the first 5 days and Employment Insurance pays the rest. For employees at preferential-support small companies, Employment Insurance covers all 20 days.

Parental leave (육아휴직, yugah yujik)

Either parent may take up to 12 months of parental leave per child, up to the child’s eighth birthday (or while the child is in second grade or below). Since 23 February 2025, if both parents each take at least three months for the same child, both leave periods are extended to 18 months. Leave can be taken in up to four separate spells. You need at least 180 insured days with Employment Insurance before starting leave.

The benefit is paid by Employment Insurance at 100 percent of ordinary wage for the first six months and 80 percent of ordinary wage from month seven onward, subject to monthly caps (see the table below). The old rule that withheld 25 percent of your benefit until you returned to work was abolished from January 2025.

The 6+6 parent scheme (6+6 부모육아휴직제)

Introduced on 1 January 2024, this bonus applies when both parents take parental leave while the baby is under 18 months old. For each of the first six months that both parents are simultaneously or consecutively on leave, the monthly cap jumps well above the standard rate. The enhanced caps apply to both the mother and the father separately — each parent gets their own six enhanced months.

Why Korea does it this way

Korea grafted a leave-insurance system onto its Labor Standards Act during the 1990s and 2000s, partly modelled on Nordic models. The Employment Insurance fund — built from employer and employee payroll contributions — finances most of the cash benefits, keeping the cost off any single employer’s books. That design was meant to make companies more willing to approve leave requests, though uptake among fathers remained low for years.

Since 2022 the government has repeatedly raised benefit caps, shortened qualifying conditions, and added schemes like 6+6 to encourage fathers to take leave, as part of a broader response to Korea’s record-low birth rate. The January 2025 increases were the largest single uplift in the programme’s history.

The numbers that matter

What it means for you

The process involves your employer, the Employment Insurance service, and — for the cash allowances — the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s online portal. Here is the sequence:

1. Confirm your employment insurance status. Log into the Employment Insurance portal (ei.go.kr) to verify you have accumulated at least 180 insured days before your intended start date. Foreign workers on most work visas (including E-7, E-9 and H-2) must be enrolled; check your pay slips for the 고용보험 deduction line.
2. Notify your employer in writing. For maternity leave, notify at least 30 days before your expected due date. For parental leave, give at least 30 days’ notice before your intended start date. Employers cannot legally refuse.
3. File the benefit claim with Employment Insurance. Submit the parental leave benefit application (육아휴직급여 신청서) to your regional Employment and Labor Office (고용노동부 지청) or through ei.go.kr within one month of starting leave. You can claim retroactively each month or in one lump sum after the leave ends.
4. Claim the First Meeting Voucher and parent pay within 60 days of birth. Apply at any Community Service Center (주민센터, jumin senteo — the neighbourhood administrative office) or through the government’s integrated welfare portal at bokjiro.go.kr. Late applications may forfeit retroactive months.
5. Claim the child allowance automatically from birth. Apply at a Community Service Center or online at bokjiro.go.kr. From 2026 the age ceiling has risen to 8 (payments until the 9th birthday); check bokjiro.go.kr for any further annual increases.
6. Foreign residents: check your residency status for cash allowances. Employment Insurance benefits (maternity pay, paternity pay, parental leave pay) are tied to your employment insurance, not your nationality. The First Meeting Voucher requires the child to receive a resident registration number (주민등록번호); foreign children registered under the family relations register may also qualify — verify at your local Community Service Center.

Where to check for updated figures: Employment Insurance benefit caps — Ministry of Employment and Labor (moel.go.kr), updated by ministerial order, typically in January each year. Parent pay and child allowance rates — Ministry of Health and Welfare (mohw.go.kr), updated annually with the government budget cycle.

FAQ

Can both parents take parental leave at the same time?

Yes. Since the 6+6 scheme launched in January 2024, both parents can take leave simultaneously and each receive the enhanced monthly caps for up to six months, provided the child is under 18 months old when the overlapping leave begins. Each parent’s six enhanced months run from the start of their own leave period, not from a shared clock, so the timing can be staggered.

What if my employer refuses to approve my parental leave?

Refusing a parental leave request is illegal under the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Balance. File a complaint at your regional Employment and Labor Office (고용노동부 지청) or call the Ministry of Employment and Labor hotline at 1350. Retaliation — dismissal or other disadvantage — for taking leave is also prohibited and carries criminal penalties for the employer.

Are foreign workers in Korea eligible for these benefits?

Yes, if they are enrolled in Employment Insurance. Most legally employed foreigners on work visas are automatically enrolled. E-9 (non-professional employment) and H-2 (overseas Korean working holiday) visa holders must apply separately to join the system, but once enrolled they access the same benefits on the same terms. Data from the Korea JoongAng Daily shows parental leave payments to foreign nationals more than doubled in 2025. Cash allowances such as parent pay require the child to be registered in Korea’s resident registration system; check eligibility with your local Community Service Center.

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