[Newsmaker] Cabinet passes bill on soldiers’ child care leave

The Cabinet on Tuesday passed a revised bill that encourages soldiers to take longer periods of leave for child care.

Government officials including soldiers can take child care leave of up to three years per child. Currently, up to a year of child care leave for a soldier for his or her first child is included in the minimum period of service required for promotion.

Under the revised bill, soldiers will be able to take child care leave of more than one year for their first child without delaying promotion.

The new rule will apply to soldiers who take child care leave of six months or longer for their first child.

In Tuesday’s meeting presided over by President Moon Jae-in, the Cabinet also approved revised ordinances to better manage meal services at private kindergartens and to run a reconciliatory program for school violence victims and offenders.

Currently, only national and public kindergartens have subcommittees on meal services under their operating committees consisting of staff and parents.

Under the new rules, operating committees of private kindergartens will also have subcommittees that deal with meal services.

The central government will hire 5,512 new officials this year to work in disease quarantine, animal and plant quarantine, tackling fine dust and supporting victims of crimes, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

More than 1,000 of the new hires will be working for public safety and health, while another 4,225 will be serving in the fields of education, culture and welfare, under a government plan approved at the Cabinet meeting.

The government plans to hire 3,733 officials including 2,030 police and 1,053 Coast Guard officers next month.

The new recruits are part of the central government plan approved by the National Assembly last year to employ 11,359 officials this year.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)