Korea's new spousal miscarriage leave starts September 18 — five days, three of them paid
From September 18, 2026, a worker in Korea whose spouse has a miscarriage or stillbirth may take leave of up to five days, of which the first three are paid. The same date widens spousal childbirth leave: previously usable only within 120 days after the birth, it becomes usable from 50 days before the due date
The three lines
- New — spousal miscarriage and stillbirth leave of five days, first three paid, effective September 18, 2026
- Widened — spousal childbirth leave becomes usable from 50 days before the due date, not only after the birth
- Deadline — the claim must be made within 20 days of the miscarriage or stillbirth. The entitlement is time-limited
Key questions
- What is spousal miscarriage and stillbirth leave?
- Leave a worker may take when their spouse suffers a miscarriage or stillbirth, effective September 18, 2026. The entitlement is up to five days, of which the **first three are paid**. Until now, miscarriage and stillbirth leave existed only for the person who experienced it — a female worker. There was no provision for the spouse, who had to use annual leave or take unpaid absence after the same event. This change fills that gap.
- Is there a deadline to claim it?
- Yes — the claim must be made to the employer **within 20 days** of the miscarriage or stillbirth. That deadline is the practical gate of the scheme. The leave itself is five days, but missing the window ends the entitlement. The same structure applies to spousal childbirth leave. It has been noted as the weak point of the design: the more difficult it is to disclose an event at work, the more likely the deadline is missed. This page could not confirm whether any remedy exists once the deadline passes.
- What changes for spousal childbirth leave?
- The **window** widens. Previously it could be taken only within 120 days after the birth. From September 18 it can be taken from **50 days before the due date** through 120 days after. The practical meaning is clear: help is often needed before the birth — hospital visits, early admission, an emergency — and the old rule recognised only the period afterwards. Situations such as premature labour or admission ahead of the due date sat outside the scheme entirely.
Miscarriage and stillbirth leave already existed in Korean law. It existed only for the person who went through it.
A spouse had no basis to claim anything, and so used annual leave or went unpaid after the same event. From September 18, 2026 that gap closes.
1. What is new
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Entitlement | Spousal miscarriage and stillbirth leave |
| Effective | September 18, 2026 |
| Length | up to 5 days |
| Paid | first 3 days |
| Claim deadline | within 20 days of the miscarriage or stillbirth |
| Government support | 100% of ordinary wages for the paid period, for workers at priority-support enterprises |
Three of five days paid follows the pattern set by spousal childbirth leave: not full pay from the start, but a paid core with the state covering the smaller-employer share.
The 20-day claim deadline is the practical gate. The leave runs five days, but missing that window ends the entitlement.
2. What changes on the same date
September 18 also widens spousal childbirth leave.
| Before | From September 18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Usable window | within 120 days after the birth | from 50 days before the due date through 120 days after |
The substance of this is that "before the birth" enters the scheme.
The old rule recognised only what happened after delivery. But help is needed earlier too — admission for signs of premature labour, hospital visits ahead of schedule, tests or procedures scheduled in advance. Under the old rule the only option was annual leave.
3. A set of three
The government's own framing is a "three-part spousal care package". Each part covers a different point in time.
| Point in time | Entitlement |
|---|---|
| During pregnancy | Spousal leave during pregnancy |
| Around the birth | Spousal childbirth leave (50 days before due date – 120 days after) |
| Miscarriage or stillbirth | Spousal miscarriage and stillbirth leave (new) |
The third row is the one being filled in.
4. What already changed on August 20 — short-term parental leave
This round of reform did not begin on September 18. Short-term parental leave took effect on August 20, 2026.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Child | age 8 or under (up to second grade of primary school) |
| Grounds | the child's illness or hospitalisation, closure of school or nursery, school holidays |
| Unit | one week or two weeks |
| Frequency | once a year |
Conventional parental leave is taken in months, which made it a poor fit for a predictable two-week gap such as a school holiday. This entitlement targets exactly that gap.
In total, 245 laws and regulations take effect or change in Korea in the second half of 2026. The three above are the work-family cluster among them.
5. Dates in one table
| Date | Change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| August 20, 2026 | Short-term parental leave | in force |
| September 18, 2026 | Spousal miscarriage and stillbirth leave (new) | pending |
| September 18, 2026 | Spousal childbirth leave window widened | pending |
6. What is not confirmed
- The support ceiling — 100% of ordinary wages is reported for workers at priority-support enterprises, but the cap and the application procedure could not be confirmed.
- Missing the 20-day deadline — whether a remedy exists could not be confirmed. This is the most consequential open question in practice, because the events hardest to disclose at work are the ones most likely to run past the window.
- How five days is counted — working days or calendar days, and whether the leave may be split, is not specified in the material found.
- A revised due date — how "50 days before the due date" is recalculated was not confirmed.
- Next checkpoint — September 18. Ministry of Employment and Labour guidance and forms published around that date should settle most of the questions above.
Sources
- Ministry of the Interior and Safety — What changes in the second half of 2026
- Korea.kr Policy Briefing — What changes from the second half of 2026
- Asiae — Parental leave usable in one- to two-week blocks; spousal leave before the birth
- KB Think — What changes in the second half of 2026: short-term parental leave
- Easy Law (Korea Ministry of Government Legislation) — Miscarriage and stillbirth leave
- Korea Law Information Center — Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act