One South Korean company pays 100 million won ($71,000) to employees who have a baby and lends up to 300 million won ($214,000) interest-free to those buying a home. As low birth rates and population decline emerge as social problems, the ways companies support childbirth and child-rearing are growing more varied.
Sun Cruise Hotel & Resort in Jeongdongjin, Gangneung, Gangwon State, will hold an employee awards ceremony on the 30th and hand out childbirth grants and maturity bonuses for savings accounts, industry sources said on the 29th. An employee who gave birth to twins will receive a childbirth grant of 100 million won. It is the second such payment since the first was made in 2024.
Since 2024, Sun Cruise has paid 50 million won to employees who have a first child and an additional 50 million won for a second child, a program under which a single employee can receive up to 100 million won. Employees who save for five years and reach maturity on a 100 million won savings account receive a bonus of 10 million won, or 10% of the principal, and those buying a home can get interest-free loans of up to 300 million won.
"I believe the company can grow together only when employees can build stable families and prepare for the future while working here," said Park Ki-yeol, chief executive of Sun Cruise. "We will continue support that makes a real difference in employees' lives, including childbirth, child-rearing, housing and asset building."
Booyoung Pays 100 Million Won per Birth; CJ and Lotte Expand Time for Child Care
Corporate support is expanding from cash payments to parental leave and better working conditions.
Booyoung Group has paid a childbirth grant of 100 million won per child since 2024. In February this year, it paid a combined 3.6 billion won to employees who had children last year. Cumulative payments since the program began total 13.4 billion won, and 11 employees have received a total of 200 million won each after having two or more children, including multiple births.
CJ Group has focused on increasing the time available for child care. Employees with children aged 8 or younger, or in the second grade of elementary school or below, can use a "parental leave plus" program allowing up to 2.5 years of leave. The company also supports reduced working hours for newborn care and up to four weeks of leave to care for a child entering school.
CJ runs workplace day care centers called CJ Kidsville at major worksites in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, and offers female employees undergoing fertility treatment leave of up to six months.
Lotte has institutionalized child care participation by male employees. The group has run a program requiring male employees to take at least one month of parental leave after a birth. Lotte Hi-Mart's current recruitment benefits guide also specifies automatic parental leave after childbirth and a mandatory one-month parental leave for men.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical (069620) supports career management after childbirth and child-rearing as well. The company introduced smart work in 2008, allowing flexible and reduced hours, telecommuting and satellite offices, and it also runs a workation program. After employees return from leave, it supports career planning through a career development program (CDP).
Daewoong Pharmaceutical's retention rate for employees returning from parental leave and maternity leave between 2022 and 2024 was 93.5%. The company has maintained family-friendly company certification for 12 consecutive years and was named a leading family-friendly company last year. This year it also won the minister's award from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in the low birth rate category of the 13th 2026 National Contribution Awards.
Births Rose for a Second Year, but Corporate Benefits Aim to Be Usable
Companies are expanding childbirth and child care support to respond to the low birth rate, but also for a practical reason: keeping skilled workers from leaving.
The number of babies born in South Korea last year was 254,341, up 6.7% from a year earlier, according to the National Data Agency. Births rose for a second straight year, and the total fertility rate climbed to 0.80 from 0.75 in 2024. Despite the rebound, the figures remain low.
In the past, corporate childbirth and child care benefits focused on providing maternity and parental leave. More recently, a growing number of companies are also reworking how people work and the care environment so employees can actually use the programs.
Support is also broadening beyond cash payments such as childbirth grants to include long-term parental leave, flexible working, fertility treatment, parental leave for men, workplace day care centers and career management after returning from leave.
