South Korea made international headlines this month when the labor ministry announced a new 18-month parental leave policy — the longest parental leave in the world.

Though this new scheme is aimed at increasing fertility rates, it fails to address the underlying factors driving South Korean women not to have children — primarily conditions in the labor market, the financial situation of families, and unequal distribution of unpaid care work. 

Further, this six-month increase to the previous 52-week policy will be unpaid and only available to full-time, dual-income heterosexual couples. As a result, it is unlikely this newly