The number of private sector workers taking paternity leave in South Korea surpassed 22-thousand last year, an all-time high.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Wednesday that 22-thousand-297 male employees in the private sector took time off for childcare last year, up 26-point-two percent from a year earlier.

Amid increased government support for fathers to become more involved in childcare, the percentage of men going on leave to look after children took up 21-point-two percent of the total number, up three-point-four percentage points on-year. 

Overall, 105-thousand-165 workers took paternity or maternity leave in 2019, up six percent from the previous year.

An increasing number of men, 742, also worked reduced hours in order to care for their child or children. This is a 34-point-nine percent increase from a year earlier.