Working mothers across South Korea are guaranteed a total of 90 days of maternity leave, extending to 100 days for premature births and 120 days for multiple births, according to recent labor market reports. The statutory leave policy requires employers to grant time off around childbirth regardless of employment type or length of service, while public and private funds share the corresponding salary obligations based on company size.
Maternity Leave Duration and Salary Payment Rules
The standard leave spans 90 days for a single birth, with at least 45 days of that total required to fall after the actual delivery date. For multiple births, the allowance increases to 120 days, with a mandatory post-delivery minimum of 60 days. Small and medium-sized businesses classified as priority support enterprises receive employment insurance funds to cover 100% of the employee’s standard wages, capped at a monthly maximum of 2.1 million won. If an employee’s standard wage exceeds this cap, the employer must pay the difference directly. Large enterprises carry the full financial responsibility of paying the worker’s standard wage for the entire duration.
Employees qualify for these employment insurance benefits provided they have accumulated an insured unit period of at least 180 days before the leave ends. Applications must be submitted starting one month after the leave begins up until 12 months after it concludes. Companies are legally obligated to issue confirmation certificates and provide wage ledgers to facilitate the claims process.
Four Major Public Insurances During Leave
Managing statutory leave requires specific adjustments across South Korea’s four major public insurance schemes. National pension contributions allow for exception applications to ease financial pressure during the absence. Health insurance premiums continue at the pre-leave rate, with any overpayments reconciled during annual or retirement settlements. Employment and industrial accident insurance premiums are waived for the duration of the leave, though employment insurance applies retroactively to any supplementary wages paid directly by the employer.
Leave Timing and Job Protection Standards
If a child arrives earlier than expected, the leave officially begins on the actual date of birth. When a birth falls on a weekend or public holiday, the leave period starts on the following working day while counting the holiday within the total duration. Statutory protections dictate that the time spent on maternity leave counts as actual days worked, ensuring employees do not face reduced annual leave accrual. Upon return, employers must reinstate workers to their prior positions or equivalent roles without subjecting them to wage cuts, unfavorable performance reviews, or discriminatory treatment.
Expanded Paternity and Miscarriage Leave Policies
Paternity leave frameworks provide working fathers with 20 days of fully paid leave that can be used within 120 days following a child’s birth. Fathers can split the allocation into up to three separate segments on a work-day basis, requiring only formal notification rather than prior managerial approval. Concurrently, miscarriage and stillbirth leave regulations scale according to the duration of the pregnancy, ranging from 10 days for losses within 15 weeks up to 90 days for pregnancies reaching 28 weeks or more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a worker lacks sufficient insured employment history for government benefits?
If an employee fails to meet the 180-day employment insurance qualification period, the employer must cover the first 60 days—or 75 days for multiple births—as fully paid leave.
Can employers deny paternity leave requests under the updated notification system?
Employers cannot reject paternity leave because the administrative process operates on mandatory employee notification rather than discretionary corporate approval.
Are bonuses or performance evaluations impacted by taking maternity leave?
Maternity leave periods count as active service days, meaning employers cannot legally dock annual leave days or issue unfavorable performance evaluations stemming directly from the absence.