"Honey, Let's Wait a Bit Longer"... Parental Leave Rates Fall at Samsung and SK hynix on High Bonus Expectations

Simultaneous Drop in Parental Leave Rates at Both Companies

Parental Leave Trends Inversely Linked to Company Earnings

During the semiconductor supercycle boom, both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix saw a drop in their parental leave rates during the first half of this year. This is the first time that both companies have experienced a simultaneous decrease in parental leave rates. The figures show that more employees are choosing to delay or forgo parental leave in order to secure performance bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won.

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Samsung Down 0.7%p, SK hynix Down 0.8%p Compared to Last Year

Photo for article understanding. The Asia Business Daily DB.

Photo to assist in understanding the article. The Asia Business Daily DB.

According to semi-annual and business reports disclosed on September 27, 2026, on the Financial Supervisory Service's Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System (DART), Samsung Electronics reported a parental leave rate of 35.5% for the first half of this year, measured among employees with a child born in that year. This represents a 0.7 percentage point decrease from 36.2% in the same period last year. For male employees, the rate dropped from 12.4% in the first half of last year to 11.2% this year, while for female employees, it fell from 94.3% to 88.2% over the same period.

SK hynix posted a parental leave rate of 3.2% in the first half of this year for employees with children in elementary school or younger, down 0.8 percentage points from 4.0% in the same period last year. For male employees, the figure dropped from 1.3% in the first half of last year to 0.7% this year, and for female employees, it decreased from 10.1% to 8.9% over the same period.

This is the first time that both Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have reported a decline in parental leave rates at the same time. Since the introduction of the "work-life balance disclosure system" in 2024—which requires companies to disclose information about parental leave and flexible working arrangements—Samsung Electronics' parental leave rate had risen steadily: 34.5% in 2022, 37.4% in 2023, and 39.5% in 2024. It fell slightly to 38.1% in 2025, and then declined again in the first half of this year. For SK hynix, the rate went up from 7.8% in 2022 to 8.2% in 2023, but dropped to 6.6% in 2024, edged up slightly to 6.9% in 2025, and has fallen again in the first half of this year.

Analysis: Employees Choosing Not to Miss Out on Bonuses

Employees are leaving work at the SK hynix headquarters in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. This photo is for illustrative purposes only and is not related to any specific content. Photo by The Asia Business Daily Database.

Industry analysts explain this trend as reflecting employees' determination not to miss out on record-high performance bonuses. Previously, labor-management agreements at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix set unlimited ceilings for bonuses, at 10% of operating profit at Samsung and 10.5% at SK hynix.

As Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor business performance improved sharply from the second half of last year, the company is projected to post more than 350 trillion won in operating profit this year. As a result, expectations are that performance bonuses in the semiconductor division will reach at least 200 million won and possibly exceed 600 million won per person. Many analysts attribute the turnaround in the previously rising parental leave rate to heightened expectations around these large bonuses.

SK hynix likewise showed a pronounced inverse relationship between company results and parental leave trends.

In 2023, when the company reported a deficit with operating losses nearing 8 trillion won, the parental leave rate topped 8%, the highest ever. However, as annual operating profit rallied strongly to around 23 trillion won in 2024 and 47 trillion won in 2025, the parental leave rate dropped to the 6% range for two consecutive years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.