Male employees at many South Korean brokerages rarely take parental leave immediately after the birth of a child, filings show. The threshold is especially high in units where individual performance is tightly linked to pay, because a long absence from work carries a heavier cost.
Nine of the country's 10 largest brokerages that disclosed male parental leave usage — all except Daishin Securities — reported an average rate of 2.7% in the first half of this year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 26th. The average rate for female employees was 59.6%, more than 20 times the male figure. Samsung Securities posted the highest male usage rate at 8.0%, followed by KB Securities at 6.0%, NH Investment & Securities at 5.9% and Mirae Asset Securities at 4.0%. Five firms — Korea Investment & Securities, Shinhan Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Hana Securities and Meritz Securities — recorded 0%.
Use of parental leave by male employees is edging up. The average rate at seven firms rose to 3.4% this year from 1.8% in the first half of last year. Samsung, KB and NH Investment & Securities, which all posted 0% last year, recorded their first usage this year, lifting the average. Mirae Asset Securities, however, halved to 4% from 8%, and Hana Securities fell to 0% from 4.5%.
The disclosed usage rate is a different measure from the total number of employees on parental leave. It generally tracks the share of employees who had a child that year and took parental leave within a set period after the birth. In the first half of this year, Shinhan Securities had 32 male employees on parental leave, while Korea Investment & Securities, Kiwoom Securities and Hana Securities each had four and Meritz Securities had three — yet all of these firms recorded a usage rate of 0%. The absolute number of male employees taking parental leave is not small, but few of them begin leave right after a child is born.
Industry officials say the burden of a long absence is greatest in sales roles that require continuous management of clients and deals and where pay hinges on results. "In units such as private banking and investment banking, where individual sales results and deal performance feed directly into compensation, employees feel a relatively heavy burden about stepping away from work for a long stretch," an official at one brokerage said. "Even when they do take parental leave, it is not uncommon for them to return to work earlier than originally planned."
Spousal childbirth leave, which involves a shorter absence than parental leave, is taking hold more quickly. Six of the eight brokerages that disclosed figures for the first half of this year saw an increase in users, and the total rose 35.5% to 267 from 197 a year earlier.
