Philip Morris Korea’s new parental leave policy 'respects all forms of families'

Philip Morris Korea has implemented a new parental leave policy to support all forms of families raising children including adoptive parents and legal guardians, the company said Wednesday.

Under the company’s parental policy, which became effective last month, employees can take up to 126 days of paid parental leave if they are primary caregivers. The company allows up to 56 days of paid parental leave for secondary caregivers.

According to the company, a primary caregiver is the person responsible for the care of a newborn child or newly adopted child, or a person having legal parental responsibility for the child such as the child’s legal guardian. A secondary caregiver is a caregiver who is responsible for the child but not the primary caregiver.

If a male employee is the primary caregiver in his family, he could take up to 18 weeks of paid parental leave under Philip Morris Korea’s new parental policy.

In South Korea, employees are legally entitled up to 90 days of maternity leave and 10 days of paternity leave. The current policy is only applied for biological parents. According to the government, public officials who are adoptive parents can have 20 days of parental leave.

“The new parental leave policy is evidence of Philip Morris International’s commitment to diversity and inclusion,” said Praveen Upadhyay, Director of People and Culture at Philip Morris Korea.

“We will do our best to support the work-life balance of our employees, our most important asset.”

By Kan Hyeong-woo (hwkan@heraldcorp.com)