The Rise of Paternity Leave: Changing Gender Roles and Fatherhood in Korea

The total number of men staying home for family care has climbed steadily over the last two decades. In the first quarter of 2004, the count sat at 14만5000명 before crossing the 200,000 threshold for the first time in 2022. The recent jump added nearly 7만 명 in just four years, reflecting a growth rate exceeding 30%. Conversely, the number of women outside the workforce due to domestic responsibilities dropped 1.9% to 653만6000명 over the same timeframe, hitting an all-time low. Government analysts attribute this shift to rising female employment rates, the prevalence of dual-income households, and evolving perceptions of traditional gender roles.

Government Policies and Paternity Leave Metrics

The expansion of the government’s paternity leave framework serves as a primary driver behind the demographic shift. Data published by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on July 12 regarding the implementation of work-family balance support programs for the first half of the year showed that total parental leave benefit recipients reached 10만3983명. That figure reflects a 9.5% increase from the 9만4993 recipients recorded during the same period in the previous year, crossing the 100,000 mark for the first time in a half-year period.

Male recipients accounted for 4만320 of those totals, or roughly 38.8% of all beneficiaries. The proportion of male parental leave recipients surpassed 30% for the first time in 2024, climbed to 36.5% in the first half of 2025, and continued upward to 38.8% this year. Utilization rates for combined programs—including parental leave, reduced working hours during the childcare period, pre- and post-natal leave, and spousal childbirth leave—rose 16.3% year-over-year to 19만9911명 users. The Ministry of Employment and Labor credits the growth to policies such as the “6+6 Parents Together Parental Leave” program, increased benefit allowances, and expanded subsidies for hiring replacement workers.

Economic Impacts and Career Continuity

The rise in male caregiving aligns with broader national efforts to address low birth rates. First-quarter births reached a seven-year high, while the total fertility rate rebounded from a low of roughly 0.7 to 0.95. While researchers note that this bounce stems partly from parents born in the early 1990s entering parenthood, the government continues pushing structural reforms to sustain the trend.

Experts view shared parental leave as a vital tool to prevent female career interruptions, which traditionally form an “M-shaped curve” where women exit the workforce during pregnancy and childrearing before returning later, often at lower wages or in inferior positions. The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy set a target to lower the career interruption rate for women aged 30 to 44 from 22.3% in 2024 down to 10% by 2030, while increasing male parental leave utilization from 50% in 2027 to 70% by 2030.

Corporate structures continue to present hurdles, however. According to Ministry of Employment and Labor utilization data, sectors with high proportions of female workers and established welfare systems, such as health and social work services, report parental leave usage rates exceeding 50%. In contrast, male-dominated industries with rigid corporate cultures, including construction, register usage rates below 15%. Furthermore, roughly 30% of workers in small and medium-sized enterprises do not return to the same job following parental leave, compared to approximately 10% in large corporations.

Expert Perspectives and Institutional Reforms

Researchers point to workplace culture as the key bottleneck holding back broader adoption. While 81.4% of respondents expressed support for male parental leave in principle, only 46.4% stated they would encourage a colleague to take it, citing workflow disruptions and burdens placed on remaining team members.

Because male parental leave periods are often shorter than female counterparts, securing temporary replacements proves difficult. The researchers recommended expanding support limits to utilize internal human resources, implementing rolling hiring practices in public institutions where open competition rules delay staffing, and offering non-monetary incentives such as promotion points or preferential reassignments to employees who absorb extra duties. For smaller businesses, the authors emphasized the necessity of redesigned incentive structures, including tailored support programs, expanded replacement worker subsidies, management consulting, and tax benefits.