Parental Leave Benefit Calculator (Korea)

About Korea's parental leave benefits

Korea's parental leave benefit system pays a percentage of your ordinary wage during approved childcare leave, with the standard program covering the full leave period and a special enhanced "6+6 Parental Leave" program offering higher payments during the first 6 months when both parents take leave (sequentially or simultaneously) for a child under 18 months old. This tool estimates your monthly and total benefit under whichever program applies to your situation.

How the benefit is calculated

Under the standard program, benefit is 100% of ordinary wage throughout the leave, but capped at different monthly ceilings depending on which month of leave you're in (months 1-3 capped higher, 4-6 capped lower, month 7 onward capped lowest), with a fixed monthly floor regardless of wage. Under the 6+6 program (which specifically requires both parents to take leave for the same child under 18 months), the first 6 months use a different, more generous set of monthly caps that increase progressively month by month, reflecting the policy's design to more strongly incentivize both parents' participation during a child's earliest months.

Frequently asked questions

What's the actual advantage of the 6+6 program over the standard program?

The 6+6 program's monthly payment caps are meaningfully higher than the standard program's during the qualifying first 6 months, meaning parents with higher ordinary wages can receive a larger benefit than the standard program's caps would allow — the trade-off is that both parents must actually take leave for the same child under 18 months to access this enhanced structure.

Why does the benefit cap decrease in later months under the standard program?

The tiered cap structure (higher in months 1-3, lower afterward) is a deliberate policy design providing stronger income support earlier in the leave period, when newborn care demands and financial adjustment are often most acute, while moderating the ongoing cost of the program over a longer leave duration.

Can both parents receive the standard program benefit simultaneously, without using 6+6?

Yes — the standard parental leave benefit isn't inherently limited to one parent, but each parent's own benefit is calculated independently against their own wage and the standard caps; the 6+6 program specifically layers additional enhanced caps on top when both parents participate for the same child under 18 months, which is why it's presented as a distinct, more generous option in this calculator.