6+6 is usually described as a “double your benefit” scheme. Read the actual cap table on Work24, the Ministry of Employment and Labor's portal, and it is closer to “the ceiling rises every month” — which makes it large for some couples and worth nothing to others.
1. What it's worth. If both parents take six months each, the caps run +₩500k in month 3, +₩1.5M in month 4, +₩2.0M in month 5, +₩2.5M in month 6 above taking leave alone — ₩6.5 million more per parent over six months (our arithmetic on the Work24 table).
2. Where it does nothing. If your ordinary wage is low, the gain is zero. 6+6 raises the ceiling, not the rate — on an ordinary wage of ₩2.5M you still receive ₩2.5M in month 6, cap of ₩4.5M or not. Take only one or two months and the cap is identical to taking leave alone.
3. What to do. The gain grows with how long each parent takes. The periods need not overlap (the provision says so in parentheses) and leave starting during pregnancy counts. But the provision does not say which figure applies when the two parents take different lengths — confirm that with an employment centre before filing.
Dual-parent parental leave (6+6)
“Month 1 2.5m won · Month 2 2.5m · Month 3 3.0m · Month 4 3.5m · Month 5 4.0m · Month 6 4.5m · Month 7 onward cap 1.6m”
— Work24, Parental Leave Benefit program guide (last updated September 15, 2025)
What moves is the ceiling, not the rate. The 100%-of-ordinary-wage rate stays put; the cap climbs from 2.5 million to 4.5 million won across the first six months. Which means the higher your ordinary wage, the more 6+6 is worth to you.
How much more, month by month
| Month | Alone (cap) | 6+6 (cap) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.5m won | 2.5m won | — |
| 2 | 2.5m won | 2.5m won | — |
| 3 | 2.5m won | 3.0m won | +0.5m |
| 4 | 2.0m won | 3.5m won | +1.5m |
| 5 | 2.0m won | 4.0m won | +2.0m |
| 6 | 2.0m won | 4.5m won | +2.5m |
| 7 onward | 1.6m won | 1.6m won | — |
Short leaves get almost nothing from 6+6. In months 1–2 the cap is 2.5 million either way. As the table shows, the advantage begins at month 3 and grows from there. If both parents plan to take two months each, the scheme's name promises more than it delivers.
A higher ceiling does nothing if your wage is below it
This is the most commonly misread part. 6+6 changes the ceiling, not the rate.
| Ordinary wage | Paid in month 6 | Does the 4.5m cap bind? |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5m won | 2.5m won (100%) | No — 6+6 changes nothing |
| 3.5m won | 3.5m won (100%) | No |
| 5.0m won | 4.5m won | Yes — the raised ceiling is the gain |
So for someone on a 2.5-million-won ordinary wage, the month-6 cap of 4.5 million means nothing — they receive 100% of 2.5 million either way. For someone on 4–5 million, the gap between taking leave alone (2.0m cap in months 4–6) and 6+6 (4.5m) is enormous. Run your own figures in the parental leave calculator.
So what 6+6 is actually worth turns on the wage, like this.
If you found a page that says “3+3”
Searching turns up a scheme called 3+3 with a different table. One employment-insurance page still carries it.
| Item | 3+3, still on the insurance page | 6+6 on Work24 |
|---|---|---|
| Child's age | “Child aged 0” | “Within 18 months of birth” |
| Length | 3 months each parent | 6 months each parent |
| Monthly cap | 2.0m / 2.5m / 3.0m won | 2.5 / 2.5 / 3.0 / 3.5 / 4.0 / 4.5m won |
| Standard leave | Cap 1.5m · floor 0.7m won | 2.5 / 2.0 / 1.6m won |
| Update date | None shown | September 15, 2025 |
3+3 appears to be the predecessor of 6+6. Its 1.5-million standard cap matches what Work24 labels as the “before January 1, 2025” figure. But since that page carries no date, we are not asserting its vintage. We followed the page that has one.
How to read government pages. ① Does it show a last-updated date? → ② If not, cross-check another page. → ③ If money turns on it, call an employment center or 1350. The same trap is documented in the parental leave guide.
The two conditions specific to 6+6 — now confirmed
An earlier version of this article listed the child-age rule and simultaneous-versus-sequential use under “what we could not confirm.” Both are now confirmed from the Work24 program guide.
“Applies when both parents take parental leave (simultaneously or sequentially) within 18 months of the child's birth.”
And in the FAQ: “Because it applies when parents take leave simultaneously or sequentially, it applies even if the parents do not take leave at the same time.”
— Work24, Parental Leave Benefit program guide (last updated September 15, 2025)
| Item | Work24 source text | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Child's age | “Within 18 months of birth” | Different from the age-8 rule for standard leave |
| How it is used | “Simultaneously or sequentially” | Taking turns is fine |
| Under six months | “Applies for the length of the overlap even if parents use less than six months” | Short leaves still count — for the overlapping months |
The third row is the practical one. It is easy to read 6+6 as requiring both parents to complete six months; the source says for the length of the overlap. As the comparison table above shows, though, an overlap of one or two months leaves the cap unchanged — so there is nothing to gain there.
The 18-month rule pulls the whole plan forward. Standard leave runs until the child is 8, but to reach the valuable months 4–6 of 6+6, the two leaves have to overlap before the child turns 18 months old.
“Months used in common” is not in the provision
The common description and the wording of Article 95-3 of the Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree do not match. Its very title is “Special provisions on parental leave benefit for a child within 18 months of birth.”
“It need not be simultaneous” is written into the main text, in parentheses
Article 95-3(1) … where, for the same child, both insured parents take parental leave before the child reaches 18 months of age (including where the parents' leave periods do not overlap in whole or in part) …
That parenthesis is the legal basis for Work24's “simultaneously or consecutively.” The provision itself says “even where they do not overlap at all.”
But the ceiling turns on “months each parent used,” not “months in common”
Work24 says “even if the parents use less than six months, it applies for the months used in common.” The provision words it differently.
| Months each parent used | Monthly cap (for each parent) |
|---|---|
| 1 month each | ₩2.5M |
| 2 months each | ₩2.5M · ₩2.5M |
| 3 months each | ₩2.5M · ₩2.5M · ₩3.0M |
| 4 months each | ₩2.5M · ₩2.5M · ₩3.0M · ₩3.5M |
| 5 months each | … · ₩4.0M |
| 6 months each | … · ₩4.5M |
The floor is ₩700,000 for each parent. From month 7: 80% of ordinary wage, capped at ₩1.6M, floored at ₩700,000 (art. 95-3(1)2).
The statute's test is “where the period of parental leave used by each parent is N months.” The words “in common” and “overlapping” do not appear.
And since the scheme explicitly does not require overlap, reading it as “months that overlapped” conflicts with the text. Read literally, the governing figure appears to be the shorter of the two parents' periods — a mother taking six months and a father three would fall under “three months each,” giving ₩2.5M / ₩2.5M / ₩3.0M through the third month.
We will not assert that reading. The provision says only “N months each” and does not spell out which figure governs when the two periods differ. Check with an employment centre before claiming. This article sets Work24's wording and the statute's wording side by side and stops there.
Three further things from the provision
- It works during pregnancy. Paragraph 2 — where a pregnant employee takes leave on account of pregnancy, “the foetus shall be regarded as the child, and the pregnant employee and her spouse as the parents.” The 6+6 special provision applies to leave starting before the birth.
- Single parents have their own schedule. Paragraph 3 — a parent under Article 4(1) of the Single-Parent Family Support Act gets ₩3.0M for months 1–3, ₩2.0M for months 4–6, and 80% capped at ₩1.6M from month 7. This is separate from 6+6 and does not depend on a spouse.
- The deferred payment — here too, “(4) Deleted <24 December 2024>.” The calculator page still carries the line that “the bracketed amount is a deferred payment, made six months after return to work” — but the current Article 95-3 contains no deferred-payment provision. The text does not show what the deleted paragraph said, so we do not assert it was the deferred-payment rule.
The single-parent rule in paragraph 3 is separate from 6+6, and on one axis the two diverge in a telling place.
The remaining base requirements match standard leave
| Requirement | What Work24 says |
|---|---|
| Employment insurance | “180 days or more as of the leave start date” |
| Length used | “30 days or more for the same child” |
| Who | A pregnant female worker, or a worker with a child aged 8 or under / grade 2 or below |
| Filing | “From one month after the leave begins until 12 months after it ends” |
| Aggregation | “Leave used within the last 12 months is added together” |
That last row stings under 6+6 in particular. If you already used several months of leave, the count continues from there — so your entitlement can run out before you reach the valuable months 4–6.
Questions this raises
Do both parents have to be on leave at the same time?
No — taking turns is fine. Work24 says “simultaneously or sequentially,” and its FAQ repeats that the scheme “applies even if the parents do not take leave at the same time.” It also applies “for the length of the overlap even if parents use less than six months.”
Is there a child-age requirement?
Yes — “within 18 months of birth.” That is a different condition from standard leave's age 8 or grade 2, so if you are aiming at 6+6, this is the constraint that binds first.
Can a single parent use 6+6?
Structurally no — it requires both parents. But Work24 provides a separate rule for single-parent workers: a 3-million-won cap for months 1–3, with the general standard from month 4.
What happens from month 7?
Identical either way: 80% of ordinary wage, 1.6-million cap. 6+6 only changes the first six months.
6+6 is not a doubling — it is a ceiling that climbs each month. Two months in and there is no difference at all, and if your ordinary wage sits below the cap, the raised ceiling never touches you. Who gains and who doesn't is sharply split.
Sources
- Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Centre — Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree, Article 95-3, in force 1 July 2026. Source for “before the child reaches 18 months,” for “including where the parents' leave periods do not overlap in whole or in part,” for the per-month caps (₩2.5M/₩2.5M/₩3.0M/₩3.5M/₩4.0M/₩4.5M) and ₩700,000 floor, for paragraph 2's foetus provision, for paragraph 3's single-parent schedule, and for “(4) Deleted <24 December 2024>.”
- Ministry of Employment and Labor, Work24 — Parental Leave Benefit program guide (last updated September 15, 2025). Source for the 6+6 monthly caps, the standard three tiers, the single-parent 3-million cap, the 180-day / 30-day / age-8 requirements, the filing window, and the 12-month aggregation rule. The same page is the source for “within 18 months of birth,” “simultaneously or sequentially,” and the FAQ lines “it applies even if the parents do not take leave at the same time” and “applies for the length of the overlap even if parents use less than six months.”
- Ministry of Employment and Labor, Work24 — Parental leave benefit calculator guidance. Source for the pre-2025 standard (1.5m cap, 80%) used above as the basis for reading 3+3 as the earlier scheme, and for the definition of ordinary wage.
- Employment Insurance — Parental leave (both parents) guidance. Cited above as the page still carrying 3+3 — child aged 0, 3 months each (2.0 / 2.5 / 3.0m won), simultaneous or sequential use, 1.5m cap and 0.7m floor. It shows no update date.
Where to check further
- Which figure applies when the two parents take different lengths. The provision says only “where the period each parent used is N months”; Work24 says “months used in common.” Those are different tests, and your payment turns on which one applies — put your own combination to an employment centre (MOEL helpline 1350).
- How “within 18 months of birth” is measured, and the minimum unit. Whether it runs from each parent's start date, and whether a few overlapping days count, is not in the source text. Worth asking in the same call.
- Whether the caps rose again for 2026. The Work24 page carries no 2026 marker and was last updated in September 2025. Re-check the cap table on Work24 immediately before filing.
Written as of July 2026. The monthly caps and the 18-month / simultaneous-or-sequential conditions come from Work24 source text, and everything still unverified is labeled as such. For the base scheme see the parental leave guide; for cutting hours instead of stopping work see reduced working hours. Check Work24 once more right before filing.
