Target for paternity leave benefits
Requirements
The Minister of Employment and Labor pays paternity leave benefits to employees who meet all of the following requirements (Article 75 of the Employment Insurance Act, Articles 100 and 94 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act).
The insured period before the end of the vacation (Article 41 of the Employment Insurance Act) shall be at least 180 days.
The employee shall apply within 1 month from the date he begins his vacation and within 12 months from the date on which his vacation ends.
√ However, employees who were unable to apply for paternity leave benefits for the following reasons during that period must apply within 30 days after the reason ends.
1. Natural disaster
2. Illness or injury of the recipient or his spouse
3. Illness or injuries of an ascendant or a descendant of the recipient or spouse
4. Obligatory military service under the Military Service Act
5. Arrest or execution of the sentence because of an alleged crime
The workplace to which the employee who received paternity leave belongs must be a company eligible for preferential support to receive paternity leave benefits (proviso to Article 76 (1), subparagraph 2 of of the Employment Insurance Act).
Payment period
Paternity leave benefits will be paid for the first 5 days of the spouse’s paternity leave (the main body of Article 76 (1), subparagraph 2 of the Employment Insurance Act).
Application for the paternity leave benefits
How to apply
Any person who wishes to receive the paternity leave benefits must submit all of the following documents to the head of the job stability agency having jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence or workplace (Article 75 of the Employment Insurance Act and the main body of Article 121 (1) of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act).
Application for paternity leave benefits (attached form No. 105 of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act)
One copy of the written confirmation of paternity leave to be submitted once (attached Form 107-2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act)
One copy of the data confirming ordinary wages (wage register, employment agreement, etc.)
Data confirming if money or valuables are paid by the employer during the vacation
Time limit for application
Paternity leave benefits must be applied at once after the vacation is over (Article 121 (3), subparagraph 2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act).
Amount paid for paternity leave benefits
Amount paid
The amount of paternity leave benefits shall be the amount calculated as equivalent to the ordinary wage under the Labor Standards Act based on the start date of paternity leave [see Article 76 (1) of the Employment Insurance Act and Guidelines for Paternity Leave Benefits from the Ministry of Employment and Labor (September 2019)].
Upper limit and lower limit
The upper and lower limits of the paternity leavebenefits are as follows (Article 76(2) of the Employment Insurance Act, Article101 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act, and PublicNotice of the Upper Limit of Paternity Leave Benefits in 2023).
Upper limit: KRW 401,910
Lower limit
√ If the hourly ordinary wage of the employee is less than the minimum wage for each hour under the Minimum Wage Act effective on the start date of the paternity leave (hereinafter referred to as the “hourly minimum wage”), the amount is equivalent to the ordinary wage during the period allowed for the application of paternity leave benefits which is calculated by considering the hourly minimum wage as the hourly ordinary wage.
Restrictions on the payment of paternity leave benefits, etc.
Restrictions on the payment
If an employee leaves the business during the paternity leave period, the paternity leave benefits will not be paid (Articles 77 and 73 (1) of the Employment Insurance Act).
If an employee is engaged in the following employment during paternity leave, paternity leave benefits shall not be paid for the period of employment (Articles 77, 73 (2) and 70 (3) of the Employment Insurance Act and Article 116 (3) of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act).
Where the fixed working hours for 1 week are at least 15 hours
Where the money andvaluables received in return for providing income or labor throughself-employment is at least KRW 1.5 million (proviso toArticle 95(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act)
A person who has received or intends to receive paternity leave benefits through fraud or other improper means shall not receive paternity leave benefits from the date he receives or intends to receive such benefits (Article 77 and the main body of Article 73 (4) of the Employment Insurance Act).
However, if the requirement for a new paternity leave after the paternity leave is met, the paternity leave benefits according to the new requirement does not apply (Article 77 and proviso to Article 73 (4) of the Employment Insurance Act).
The scope of paternity leave benefits for a person who receives or intends to receive paternity leave benefits by falsely stating that he has been employed during the period of paternity leave may be determined differently pursuant to Article 118-2 of the Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act in consideration of the number of violations, etc (Articles 77 and 73 (5) of the Employment Insurance Act).
Reduction of the payment
If the employee (insured) received money or valuables equivalent to ordinary wages from the employer during his paternity leave and the sum of money and valuables received from the employer and the paternity leave benefits exceed the ordinary wages based on the start date of the paternity leave, the payment will be made by deducting the excess amount from the paternity leave benefits (Articles 77 and 73 (3) of the Employment Insurance Act and the main body of Article 104 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act).
However, this will not apply to cases where the employer paid the difference between the increased ordinary wage and the paternity leave benefits to the employee whose ordinary wage was increased during the paternity leave (proviso to Article 104 of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act).