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For the first time, the proportion of men taking parental leave in Korea exceeded 30 percent last year, according to government data released Sunday.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor reported that 256,771 people benefited from work-family balance programs, such as maternity leave and parental leave, in 2023. This marked an increase of 17,242, or 7.2 percent, from 239,529 in the previous year.

Among them, 132,535 employees took parental leave, up 6,527, or 5.2 percent, from 126,008 in 2023. The increase comes after a slight decline in parental leave users in 2023, which was attributed to Korea's falling birthrate. Officials said last year's rebound was likely driven by an expansion of work-family balance initiatives.

The number of men taking parental leave reached 41,829, accounting for 31.6 percent of the total. This is the first time since the system was introduced that male users have surpassed 30 percent. In 2023, men on parental leave numbered 35,336, making up 28 percent of all users.

The rise is particularly notable compared to 2015, when only 4,872 men, or 5.6 percent, took parental leave. The figure has since grown nearly ninefold over nine years.

Parental leave usage was particularly high for infants under 12 months, when parental care is most needed. Among women, 80 percent took parental leave during this period, up 2.1 percentage points from the previous year. Among men, 46.5 percent took leave when their child was under 1 year old, an increase of 7.5 percentage points.

By company size, employees of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 75,311, or 56.8 percent, of all parental leave users.

The average duration of parental leave was 8.8 months, with women taking an average of 9.4 months and men taking 7.6 months.

Meanwhile, the number of workers using the reduced working hours program for child care increased to 26,627 in 2023, up 3,439 from the previous year.

Although the number of users remains lower than those taking full parental leave, the program saw a 14.8 percent rise last year, nearly 2.8 times the parental leave growth rate of 5.2 percent.

"We will do our best to ensure that all working parents can give birth, raise their children and continue their careers without concern," Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo said.