South Korean parents with children aged 8 and younger will soon be able to work shorter hours at their normal pay for up to two years, if they choose not to use their parental leave, the government announced Thursday.

Currently, parents who opt not to take their one-year parental leave are only allowed to work shorter hours ― 30 hours or less a week ― for a maximum of 12 months.

Even if they take leave for less than a year, those months will still be included as their short-time working period. For example, if a mother takes a four-month maternity leave, she will only be allowed to work less hours for a total of eight remaining months.

Under the revised bill, those who choose not to take their one-year parental leave will be able to work for a maximum of 30 hours a week for two years.

Parents who choose to take leave for less than a year will be permitted shorter working hours equivalent to twice the time not used from the initial 12-month period. For example, a mother who only chooses to take a three-month maternity leave will be able to work fewer hours for 18 months.

The number of parents who opted for shorter working hours increased by 41 percent this year from last, according to the Labor Ministry.

South Korea has one of the longest workweeks among the OECD countries. Workers here put in an average 44.6 hours at work each week, as of 2012.

The ministry said the revised bill would likely go into effect in July at the earliest.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)