"The bonus is worth hundreds of millions of won, so I can't take leave this year" — Samsung Electronics–SK hynix parental-leave rates fall in tandem

[Financial News] Samsung Electronics and SK hynix both saw their parental-leave rates decline in the first half of this year. As performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won were set amid the semiconductor supercycle, the prediction that more employees would forgo leave to receive them appears to have been borne out by the actual figures.
According to half-year and business reports disclosed on the 27th through the Financial Supervisory Service’s Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART), Samsung Electronics’ parental-leave rate in the first half of this year was 35.5% among employees with children born that year. This was down 0.7 percentage points (p) from 36.2% in the same period last year. The rate for men fell from 12.4% in the first half of last year to 11.2% this year, while the rate for women declined from 94.3% to 88.2% over the same period.
SK hynix also saw its parental-leave rate among employees with children in elementary school or younger fall to 3.2% in the first half of this year, down 0.8 percentage points from 4.0% in the same period last year. The rate for men dropped from 1.3% to 0.7%, while the rate for women fell from 10.1% to 8.9% over the same period.
This is the first time that parental-leave rates have declined simultaneously at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, two of South Korea’s largest companies that are widely regarded as offering excellent work-life balance.
Around 2024, when the Work-Life Balance Disclosure System requiring companies to disclose parental leave and flexible work arrangements was introduced, Samsung Electronics’ parental-leave rate rose steadily from 34.5% in 2022 to 37.4% in 2023 and 39.5% in 2024. It then edged down to 38.1% in 2025 before falling again in the first half of this year.
SK hynix’s rate rose to 7.8% in 2022 and 8.2% in 2023, but fell to 6.6% in 2024. It then rebounded slightly to 6.9% in 2025 before declining again in the first half of this year.
The trend at both companies is being interpreted as employees’ choice to avoid missing out on record-high performance bonuses. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix previously reached labor-management agreements to pay performance bonuses equivalent to 10% and 10.5% of operating profit, respectively, without a cap.
Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business has improved sharply since the second half of last year. Its operating profit this year is expected to exceed 350 trillion won, while performance bonuses for its semiconductor division are projected to range from 200 million won to more than 600 million won.
SK hynix also shows an inverse relationship between business performance and parental-leave rates. The rate exceeded 8% in 2023, when the company swung to an operating loss of nearly 8 trillion won, reaching its highest level. However, after annual operating profit rebounded sharply to the 23 trillion won range in 2024 and the 47 trillion won range in 2025, the rate fell to the 6% range for two consecutive years.
Against this backdrop, the decline in parental-leave rates after a period of growth is being attributed to expectations of performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won. An industry source said, "This appears to be because employees who take parental leave are excluded from performance-bonus payments, and their payout rates may also be lowered because their length of service is reduced. Given the semiconductor supercycle expected to continue for the next several years, parental-leave rates in the semiconductor industry are likely to remain low for the time being."
[email protected] Hee-sun Kim Reporter