From 27 November, paid fertility-treatment leave doubles from 2 to 4 days
Fertility-treatment leave is six days a year, of which the first two were paid. From 27 November 2026 the first four days are paid. Employment insurance also covers four days instead of two, but at priority-support firms only. The six-day total does not change.
Conditions used in the video
- Effective
- 2026-11-27
- Leave
- 6 days a year (unchanged)
- Paid days
- 2 → 4
- Insurance benefit
- first 2 days → 4 (priority-support firms only)
- Ordinary monthly pay
- ₩3M
Results
- Now, 2 paid days
- ₩200,000
- From 27 Nov, 4 paid days
- ₩400,000
- Daily ordinary pay
- ₩100,000
- Insurance daily cap (current notice)
- ₩84,210
- Remaining unpaid days
- 2
At a glance
Ordinary monthly pay ₩3M, all six days used.
- Now · 2 paid days₩200,000
4 days unpaid
- From 27 Nov · 4 paid days₩400,000
2 days unpaid
Why it works this way
Fertility-treatment leave is six days a year, but only the first two were paid. Use all six around a treatment schedule and four of them were unpaid.
From 27 November 2026 the paid days double.
남녀고용평등법 제18조의3제1항, as amended effective 2026-11-27.
- Leaveup to 6 days a year (unchanged)
- Paidfirst 2 days → first 4 days
- Unpaid4 → 2
It does not allow more than six days. Of the six, four become paid.
On ordinary monthly pay of ₩3M the daily figure is ₩100,000. Two paid days are ₩200,000 now; from 27 November four paid days are ₩400,000.
고용보험법 제76조제1항제3호 and the benefit cap notice.
- Priority-support firminsurance pays the paid days up to a daily cap → first 2 days become 4
- Daily cap₩84,210 under the current notice. A new notice will set the 4-day figure
- Large firminsurance ₩0, so the employer pays all 4 paid days
The worker receives the same total either way; firm size decides who pays.
What if two paid days were already used before 27 November? How the amended article applies is left to the addenda and the decree; if days remain within the year's six, check with the employer and the employment centre whether four paid days are recognised. This page is updated when the decree is out.
In short: from 27 November, four of the six fertility-treatment leave days are paid, and employment insurance covers four days at priority-support firms.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
남녀고용평등과 일·가정 양립 지원에 관한 법률 제18조의3제1항 (fertility-treatment leave)
In force Effective 2026-11-27 (amendment promulgated 2026-05-26)
Where a worker requests leave for fertility treatment such as artificial insemination or IVF, the employer must grant up to six days a year, of which the first four days are paid.
What this means
🔴 'First two days' becomes 'first four days'. Six days a year is unchanged.
고용보험법 제76조제1항제3호 (payment period)
In force Effective 2026-11-27
Maternity-type benefit is paid, at the amount of ordinary wages, for the first four days of fertility-treatment leave, but only where the insured person's workplace is a priority-support firm.
What this means
The insurance benefit also goes from two days to four, at priority-support firms only.
Maternity benefit cap notice (고용노동부고시 제2025-124호)
In force Applies from 2026-01-01
Fertility-treatment leave: first two days ₩168,420; one day ₩84,210.
What this means
₩84,210 a day is the cap. The four-day cap will be set by a new notice aligned to the amendment, so this page does not state a four-day figure.
Run it on your own numbers
The calculator opens with these conditions already filled in. Change the figures and your own case comes straight out.
Open the Spouse's Birth and Fertility Treatment Leave
Frequently asked
Do the leave days increase too?
No. Six days a year is unchanged; the paid portion goes from two to four.
What about leave taken before 27 November?
The old article applies: only the first two days paid. Four days apply to requests from the effective date. How a year in which two paid days were already used is handled is left to the addenda and decree, so check with the employment centre.
Do I get nothing at a non-priority firm?
The leave is paid, so the employer pays four days of ordinary wages. What is missing is the insurance benefit reimbursing the employer.
Can a spouse take it?
The worker receiving treatment requests it. There is no separate leave in this article for a spouse to accompany them.
Can it be split if the schedule changes?
It can be requested within six days a year and is granted at the time the worker requests, unless it would seriously disrupt operations (proviso to 제18조의3제1항).
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.