[Herald Economy = Reporter Seo Jung-eun] Spousal paternity leave will be extended from the current 10 days to 20 days. For civil servants who give birth to premature infants, maternity leave will be extended from the current 90 days to a maximum of 100 days.
The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 4th that the amendment to the ‘National Civil Service Duty Regulation’, which includes these details, has passed the Cabinet meeting.
This amendment was promoted to create family-friendly working conditions to overcome the ultra-low birth rate crisis and will take effect on the 11th along with the amended ‘Regulations on National Public Officials’ Duty and Discipline’.
Firstly, in the case of a civil servant’s spouse giving birth, the number of days of leave that can be used by fathers will be increased from the current 10 days to 20 days. The usage period, which had to be used within 90 days from the birth date, will be extended to 120 days, and the number of times it can be divided, previously only once, will be expanded to three times.
In the case of giving birth to multiple babies, the number of leave days will increase from the current 15 days to 25 days, the usage period will extend from 120 days to 150 days, and the number of allowed splits will increase from 3 times to a maximum of 5 times.
If the spouse gave birth less than 90 days before the amendment’s effective date, even if they have used all 10 days of the existing leave, they can use an additional 10 days according to the expanded provisions. For premature infants who require hospitalization in a neonatal intensive care unit, maternity leave can be extended to 100 days.
For those who give birth to premature infants after the effective date, if they submit evidence such as a medical certificate proving this fact up to 7 days before the 90-day maternity leave ends, they can use an additional 10 days.
Yeon Won-jung, head of the Ministry of Personnel, stated, “Active support and interest from each agency are necessary to ensure that civil servants who are about to give birth can fully utilize the expanded leave days,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to create working conditions that overcome the ultra-low birthrate.”