Booyoung Group’s 100 million won ($75,000) childbirth bonus has already drawn wide attention in South Korea, where the world’s lowest birth rate has fueled a scramble for ideas to encourage families to have more children.

But newly revealed details suggest the construction-focused conglomerate’s policy is even more generous than many realized.

Booyoung founder and Chairman Lee Joong-keun said Tuesday the group has paid the full bonus even to an employee who gave birth just one day after joining the company.

Booyoung founder and chairman Lee Joong-keun (Booyoung Group)
Booyoung founder and chairman Lee Joong-keun (Booyoung Group)

In a CBS radio interview Wednesday, the 85-year-old Lee confirmed the news, saying the money is paid not to the employee, but “to the child.”

“They (the employee) were worried whether they would qualify, but we treated it as childbirth after joining,” Lee said.

He added that the company also does not require employees to return the money if they later quit.

Booyoung introduced the 100 million won-per-child incentive in 2024, retroactively covering children born from 2021. The company has paid out over 13 billion won under the policy so far.

The company says births among employees have increased about 60 percent since the program began, while job applications have jumped fivefold.


milaya@heraldcorp.com