The percentage of men who took parental leave among workers surpassed 30 percent for the first time last year.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Sunday, 41-thousand-829 male workers took parental leaves in 2024, accounting for 31-point-six percent of the total workers who took childcare leave.

The ratio exceeded 30 percent for the first time.

The ratio steadily increased from five-point-six percent in 2015 to 13-point-four percent in 2017, and 24-point-five percent in 2020 to 28-point-nine percent.

The ministry attributed the rise to a new system introduced last year, which allows parents with children under 18 months to receive their full salary for the first six months if both take parental leave.

Meanwhile, the total number of workers who took parental leave reached 132-thousand-535 last year, up over 65-hundred or five-point-two percent from a year earlier.