The number of male workers taking paternity leave soared more than 40 percent last year, reaching nearly 5,000, government data showed Wednesday.



According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of male employees getting paternity leave in 2015 came to 4,872, up 42.4 percent from a year earlier.



The number of male workers who took parental leave in 2014 was 3,421, showing a rapid increase from 1,790 in 2013 and 1,402 in 2011.



Still the rate of men taking leave came far behind that of their female counterparts, only accounting for 5.6 percent of all 87,339 people who took parental leave.



Obviously, however, the rate showed a steady increase from 2.4 percent in 2011, 3.3 percent in 2013 and 4.5 percent in 2014.



According to data, male workers who are employed at large businesses with more than 300 employees have taken more leave than those who work for small companies, an indication that large businesses provide more opportunity for them to take leave.



The increase has been attributed to the government's measures to encourage paternity leave, including turning unpaid leave into paid leave in 2001 and extending the age limit for the children in 2008, according to the labor ministry.



New fathers and mothers are both eligible for up to one year of paid time off, receiving up to 40 percent of their monthly income while on leave.



A government official said paternal leave is designed to help parents balance their work and family affairs and to resolve problems arising from the country's low birthrate.



South Korea's birthrate, or the average number of children born to each woman in her lifetime, stood at around 1.24 in 2011. This is much lower than the average birthrate of 1.71 tallied for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Yonhap)



