Booyoung Group's 100 million won 'wow' incentive encouraging more employees to have children

Families of Booyoung Group employees who received childbirth incentives attend an annual company ceremony and childbirth support event at the Booyoung Taepyeong Building in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 5. [YONHAP]

 
Annual births among Booyoung Group employees have risen from 23 to 36 in merely three years — an unusual trajectory in corporate Korea.
 
Employee births at the Korean construction company have been increasing year after year, following Chairman Lee Joong-keun’s decision, starting in 2024, to offer 100 million won ($68,000) in incentives to employees who have children.
 

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Booyoung said Thursday at its company kickoff event that it paid out a total of 3.6 billion won last year to employees who gave birth in 2024, up about 29 percent from the previous year’s 2.8 billion won.
 
In the first year of the program in 2024, Booyoung paid a combined 7 billion won to employees who had children between 2021 and 2023. During that period, the company averaged 23 employee births per year. That number rose to 28 in 2024 and climbed to 36 last year.
 
Eleven employees this year received 200 million won each after having two children — either twins or two births over the past two to three years. Total childbirth incentive payments to date have reached 13.4 billion won.
 
An employee surnamed Dong at O2 Resort, a Booyoung affiliate, who gave birth to a second child last year after a nine-year gap since her first, said the company’s policy played a decisive role.
 
“Because my spouse and I both work, we missed the timing for a second child,” she said. “But as the company began actively encouraging childbirth and made it easier to take parental leave, we were able to plan for another child. It was a huge relief not having to worry about living expenses during leave.”
 

Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Joong-keun speaks during an annual company ceremony and childbirth support event at the Booyoung Taepyeong Building in Jung District, central Seoul, on Feb. 5. [NEWS1]

 
Chairman Lee said the incentive amount was intentional.
 
“You have to give at least 100 million won — enough to make people say ‘wow’ — for employees to feel emotional satisfaction and see real usefulness,” he said, adding that he has no plans to reduce the amount. He also said he intends to continue the program “until [Korea’s] total fertility rate reaches 1.5.”
 
Similar childbirth incentive policies are spreading across the corporate sector. Companies such as Posco, Hyundai Motor and Kumho Petrochemical offer cash bonuses for childbirth, typically increasing by birth order — 5 million won for a first child, 10 million won for a second and 15 million won for a third. 
 
Doosan provides 500,000 won per month to co-workers in departments where an employee is on parental leave, aiming to ease the additional workload. Hanmi Global has introduced a policy granting a one-rank promotion to employees who have a third child, regardless of performance evaluations or years of service.
 
Korea has one of the world's lowest birthrates, with last year's total fertility rate estimated at around 0.8.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAEK MIN-JUNG [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]