1. Protective Leave for Pregnant Workers

(1) Maternity leave
Employers shall grant pregnant female employees 90 days of maternity leave (120 days if a woman is pregnant with two or more babies), to be used before and after childbirth. In such cases, a minimum of 45 days (60 days for multiple babies) shall be allocated after childbirth. At the end of the maternity leave, the employer shall allow the female employee to return to the same work, or other work at the same rate of pay, as before the leave. The first 60 days (75 days for multiple babies) of leave shall be paid. The remaining 30 days (or 45 days for multiple babies) qualify for reimbursement of up to 2.0million won (2.0 million won for multiple babies) through employment insurance, provided, that for companies Preferentially Supported Companies (Article 12 of the Presidential Decree to the LSA)

Type of Industry (Classification Code)
Number of Employees
1. Manufacturing (C);
Up to 500 persons
2. Mining (B); 3. Construction (F); 4. Transportation (H); 5. Publishing, filming, broadcasting, and IT services (J); 6. Facility management and company support services (N); 7. Professional, science and technology services (M); 8. Health and social security insurance services (Q).
Up to 300 persons
9. Wholesale and retail services (G); 10. Hotel and restaurant services (I); 11. Finance and insurance (K); 12. Art, sports, and other leisure-related services (R);
Up to 200 persons
13. Other businesses
Up to 100 persons

eligible for preferential support, the employee concerned will receive the first 60 days' maternity leave allowance (up to 2.0 million won per month) from employment insurance. In this case, the employer will pay the amount of the ordinary wage exceeding the government subsidy (Article 74 of the LSA).

Employers shall not dismiss any female employee during a period of temporary interruption of work before or after childbirth as provided herein and within 30 days thereafter. For the purpose of calculating annual paid leave, the maternity leave shall be regarded as attended days. Also, in calculating the average wage for purposes of severance payment, the period of maternity leave and the wage paid during the maternity period shall be deducted from the calculation of average wage required to be included in the period and wage.

Maternity Leave Benefits


(2) Advance maternity leave
In cases where an employee who is or was recently pregnant requests leave due to a miscarriage or other pregnancy-related reason, the employer shall allow her to take leave at any time prior to the expected due date. In any case, 45 or more continuous days (60 days for multiple babies) shall be provided after childbirth or miscarriage. Reasons for advance maternity leave are as follows (Article 74 of the LSA):
① In cases where a pregnant employee went through a miscarriage or stillbirth in the past;
② In cases where a pregnant employee is over 40 years of age at the time of the request for maternity leave; and
③ In cases where a pregnant employee submits a medical document issued by a hospital that describes the danger of miscarriage or stillbirth.

(3) Maternity leave for miscarriage or stillbirth
At the request of a female employee who has suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth, the employer shall grant her leave for miscarriage or stillbirth, except where the miscarriage is the result of an artificially-induced abortion. If a female employee who has had a miscarriage or stillbirth asks for maternity leave, she must submit to the employer an application for miscarriage or stillbirth leave, providing the reason for the request for leave, the date of the miscarriage or stillbirth and the pregnancy period, along with a medical certificate issued by a medical organization. In cases of miscarriage or stillbirth, the employer shall pay the ordinary wage for the period given for maternity leave, just as with a normal maternity leave, as follows:
① A pregnancy period of 11 weeks or less: five days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
② A pregnancy period of 12 weeks or more but less than 15 weeks: ten days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
③ A pregnancy period of 16 weeks or more but less than 21 weeks: thirty days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth;
④ A pregnancy period of 22 weeks or more but less than 27 weeks: sixty days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth; and
⑤ A pregnancy period of 28 weeks or more: ninety days from the date of miscarriage or stillbirth.

(4) Reduced working hours during the pregnancy period
In cases where a female employee who is pregnant for 12 weeks or less or 36 weeks or more applies for reduced working hours, the employer shall allow it. Provided that the pregnant employee's current working hours are fewer than 8 per day, the employer may reduce her working hours to 6 hours per day. The employer cannot reduce the wage of the employee due to the reduced working hours (Article 74 of the LSA).

(5) Allowing paid time off for prenatal examinations
If a pregnant female employee requests time off from work to receive a regular prenatal health checkup, the employer shall allow her to do so. An employer shall not reduce an employee's wages on the grounds that she took time off for the relevant health checkup. The paid time off allowance for prenatal examinations is as follows: 1) one time every two months up to the 7th month of pregnancy; 2) one time per month during the 8th and 9th months; 3) one time every two weeks during the 10th month or later (Article 74-2 of the LSA, Article 10 of the Protection of Motherhood Act).

2. Paternity Leave

If an employee requests leave on the grounds of his spouse giving birth, the employer shall grant him paid leave of up to 10 days. The leave may not be requested after a lapse of 90 days from the date when the employee's spouse gave birth (Article 18-2 of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Act). Paternity leave will also be usable on two separate periods if desired.
To reduce the burden on SMEs of this extended period of paid leave, the government will pay for 5 days of those paternity leave benefits (100% of normal wages, up to 2 million won per month) for SME workers.

3. Nursing Hours

A female employee who has an infant under twelve months of age shall be allowed to take paid nursing recesses, twice per day for at least 30 minutes each (Article 75 of the LSA).

4. Menstruation Leave
An employer shall, if requested by a female worker, grant her one day's menstruation leave per month (Article 73)

Menstruation leave is given to female employees who suffer from physical and/or mental difficulties at work due to menstruation. The leave shall be granted to an employee who requests it, regardless of whether or not she has come to work for all the contractual working days of the given month. On the basis of the revised law that now recognizes menstruation leave as unpaid leave, the employer does not have to pay an allowance for the use of the leave, if requested. However, allowance shall be paid if both parties agree differently in the collective agreement, rules of employment or labor contract. Although menstruation leave is now considered unpaid leave, it is permitted by law so as to have no effect on attendance in calculating the number of contractual working days and rate of attendance for weekly holiday, annual paid leave, etc.