The most notable thing is that **Korea** and **Japan** legally guarantee an overwhelmingly long period of male paternity leave compared to other countries.
1st place: Korea: 54.0 weeks (approximately more than a year), the longest among OECD countries.
2nd place Japan: 52.0 shares, similar to Korea, it guarantees a very long period.
These two countries have long institutional leave periods, with a difference of more than 20 weeks compared to France (30.2 weeks), which ranks third.
Usage rate (low) compared to those eligible: However, if you look at the proportion (usage rate) of those who actually used leave among ‘all fathers who gave birth to children’, it remains in the range of about 6.8% to 7%. (Based on Statistics Korea in 2022)
Compare: Sweden and Norway, which have much shorter time periods in the chart, have male usage rates approaching **70-80%**. Although Korea has a long system, the actual usage rate is still only about 1 in 10.
2. Income replacement rate: “”The period is long, but the salary is reduced.””
This is the most crucial reason. **’Income replacement rate’** refers to how much of your existing salary is compensated during your time off.
Nominal replacement rate vs. real replacement rate:
In Korea, parental leave pay is 80% (nominal) of normal wages.
The problem is the ‘ceiling’. Even if the monthly salary is 5 million won, the childcare leave benefit is limited to the upper limit (e.g. 1.5 million won per month), so the actual salary drops sharply.
OECD comparison:
According to an OECD analysis, the total salary received during parental leave in Korea is estimated to be approximately 40-50% of existing income (depending on income level).
On the other hand, in Japan (high 60%) and Northern European countries (over 80-90%), even if the period is short, the salary during rest is almost completely preserved.
In other words, Korean fathers are realistically hesitant to take long-term leave because “”you can take a long break (54 weeks), but if you take a break, your income is cut in half.””