If you want to keep working while caring for a child, ask about 육아기 근로시간 단축, Korea's reduced-working-hours arrangement for childcare. Submit an actual schedule proposal and check benefits separately. Permission to work shorter hours does not mean your normal salary will continue unchanged.
Checked October 18, 2026. This is a guide to the childcare arrangement, rather than a general right to work remotely or choose any starting time.
Check whether this is the right arrangement
MOEL's current childcare-hours guidance describes eligibility for a child aged 12 or younger or in elementary school grade six or below. The resulting working week is 15–35 hours. The standard period is up to one year; unused parental leave can affect the available period, subject to the scheme's rules. Ask HR to confirm the calculation from your actual leave history.
Someone who needs a complete break from work should examine parental leave instead. Someone who needs occasional days for an ill relative should ask about family care leave. Naming the correct arrangement helps HR process the request and avoids an informal schedule change being mistaken for a different statutory scheme.
Build a schedule that someone else can understand
Write down the proposed start and end dates, working days, daily start and finish times, breaks, and resulting weekly hours. Identify meetings or customer coverage that would need reassignment. For shift work, attach a proposed roster rather than writing only “fewer hours.”
MOEL describes submitting the written request 30 days before the proposed start. The request includes the child's details and the proposed working times. Ask which supporting documents and internal form HR uses, and keep the dated submission.
I would like to request 육아기 근로시간 단축 from [date] to [date]. My proposed working schedule is [days/times], totaling [hours] per week. Please confirm eligibility, the written working conditions, and the employer confirmation needed for the benefit application.
Agree on the working conditions in writing
The official guidance says working conditions, including hours, are recorded in writing. It also lists limited refusal grounds, including short service and substantiated operational difficulties. Where the request is refused, the employer must explain the reason in writing and discuss alternatives.
Before the schedule starts, ask payroll for the gross wage, treatment of each allowance, expected deductions, and the date the new calculation begins. Ask who will reassign work that no longer fits the schedule. A shorter day is difficult to use if the same late meetings and deadlines remain unaddressed.
Use the Korean payslip guide to compare the first changed statement with the written arrangement. Keep company pay and any government benefit as separate entries in your budget.
Check benefit eligibility and the return plan
For the benefit, MOEL lists at least 30 days of qualifying reduced hours and at least 180 insured qualifying days before the reduction begins. These are insured qualifying days, not simply six calendar months. Applications run from one month after the reduction starts until 12 months after it ends. Ask HR for the reduced-hours confirmation and evidence of the hours and ordinary wages before and after the change. Have the employment center confirm your own coverage before budgeting for a payment.
Record the planned return date, the normal schedule to resume, and the contact for any extension or change. If the employer's explanation remains unclear, take the request, response, proposed hours, and leave history to MOEL for advice.
MOEL guidance checked October 18, 2026. The live guidance page displays no publication date. This article does not calculate benefits or verify an individual insurance record.
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