A father and his child at a polling station in Dajeon, during early voting in the local elections on May 29 (Yonhap) Most South Koreans support the idea of fathers taking parental leave, but more than half are reluctant to recommend that their own male colleagues do so, according to a recent report by a state-affiliated think tank.Researchers at the Korea Institute of Public Finance conducted the study to explore ways to expand men’s use of parental leave. Men accounted for 36.5 percent of parents taking leave in 2025. The survey was conducted from Sept. 12 to 19 that year with 900 workers across the country in both the private and public sectors.Only 46.4 percent of respondents said they would recommend that a male co-worker take parental leave for childcare, substantially lower than the 63.2 percent who said they would support a female co-worker doing so.This contrasted with the high level of general support for men taking parental leave, with 81.4 percent of all respondents saying they supported the idea.Some 30.2 percent of respondents said they wanted male colleagues to take three months or less for childcare, higher than the 17.9 percent who said the same for female colleagues.“The results can be interpreted as workers showing low support for male colleagues actually taking a leave of absence due to specific workplace costs, such as increased workloads, difficulty finding replacements and pressure to meet performance targets,” the study said.Reluctance toward male workers taking parental leave was particularly strong among respondents who were concerned about finding suitable replacements.The study also found that people with a greater awareness of the country’s low birthrate problem tended to be more supportive of male parental leave.The report also noted that workers at private companies were less open to male parental leave than those in the public sector.Researchers said policymakers should focus on addressing stereotypes about gender roles, rather than simply expanding the system itself.Since unpaid parental leave for men was introduced in 1995, the government has repeatedly revised the system to increase financial support for fathers.While the use of parental leave by fathers has increased in recent years, Korea is still seeking to build a workplace culture in which workers of both genders can freely take time off to care for children.The study called for effective measures to address increased workloads, including government subsidies and incentives for companies that improve their workplace culture.