Telecommuting in South Korean public institutions last year reached a level 100 times higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data on Wednesday. In addition, the number of individuals taking childcare leave in public institutions exceeded 20,000, with more than one in five being men. The proportion of men taking childcare leave has been steadily increasing.

According to Alio, a management information disclosure system for public institutions, the number of telecommuting employees in 362 public institutions and their affiliated organizations last year decreased by 24.9 percent versus the previous year, totaling 144,283 individuals. However, this is a significant increase from the 1,436 individuals in 2019, marking a figure 100 times higher.

The number of telecommuting employees in public institutions skyrocketed from 1,436 in 2019 to 189,929 in the first year of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, and further increased to 192,087 in 2021. This surge was a result of telecommuting widely implemented as part of efforts to prevent infection in both public institutions and private companies during the pandemic.

However, the number of telecommuting employees significantly decreased by over 20 percent after the lifting of social distancing measures in April last year. Considering that the total number of employees in public institutions was around 445,000 at the end of last year, it means that one in three employees worked remotely.

The number of individuals taking childcare leave in public institutions last year increased by 15.2 percent compared with the previous year, reaching 23,892. Among them, female individuals accounted for 77.5 percent or 18,522, while males accounted for 22.5 percent or 5,370. The proportion of men taking childcare leave has been steadily increasing, from 12.4 percent in 2018, to 14.7 percent in 2019, 16.6 percent in 2020, 17.8 percent in 2021, and 22.5 percent last year.

By Pulse

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