By Kim Se-jeong
When it comes to working mothers in Korea, current laws are not enough to protect their rights.
Female employees can take maternity leave but are not free to leave on the date they want to, being pressured by employers to postpone it. Employers who fail to grant maternity leave face punishment, but they do little to change their archaic attitude.
Lawmakers and experts are attempting to change this by revising the laws.
Rep. Lee Yong-deuk of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed revisions to two laws to ensure female employees' decisions are not subject to arbitrary change by employers.
According to the proposed draft, the Labor Standards Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act will have this additional clause: "Even if employers don't agree, employees can start maternity leave the date they wish to start."
An official from a Seoul Metropolitan Government funded support center for working mothers said, "With this only, the employees can leave work without fear of facing disadvantages."
According to the center, scheduling maternity leave is one of the biggest headaches among working women. Statistics showed more than 70 percent of counseling was related to that issue. "The current laws don't fully protect female employees," the official said.
In 2015, a similar attempt was proposed by a former lawmaker but the effort was unsuccessful.
The official pointed out the root cause of the problem is outdated perceptions.
"Many men still consider maternity leave a paid vacation where women do nothing," she said. "And they think giving women this leave is a waste of resources and time. They also question why they need female employees in the first place."
When it comes to working mothers in Korea, current laws are not enough to protect their rights.
Female employees can take maternity leave but are not free to leave on the date they want to, being pressured by employers to postpone it. Employers who fail to grant maternity leave face punishment, but they do little to change their archaic attitude.
Lawmakers and experts are attempting to change this by revising the laws.
Rep. Lee Yong-deuk of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed revisions to two laws to ensure female employees' decisions are not subject to arbitrary change by employers.
According to the proposed draft, the Labor Standards Act and the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act will have this additional clause: "Even if employers don't agree, employees can start maternity leave the date they wish to start."
An official from a Seoul Metropolitan Government funded support center for working mothers said, "With this only, the employees can leave work without fear of facing disadvantages."
According to the center, scheduling maternity leave is one of the biggest headaches among working women. Statistics showed more than 70 percent of counseling was related to that issue. "The current laws don't fully protect female employees," the official said.
In 2015, a similar attempt was proposed by a former lawmaker but the effort was unsuccessful.
The official pointed out the root cause of the problem is outdated perceptions.
"Many men still consider maternity leave a paid vacation where women do nothing," she said. "And they think giving women this leave is a waste of resources and time. They also question why they need female employees in the first place."
