Eight out of ten companies offer the parental leave system to encourage childbirth but only 20 percent of their female workers actually use it, a government think tank said Thursday.

A total of 79.4 percent of the firms surveyed had a parental leave system, but the percentage of female workers who utilized it stood at just 24.3 percent, the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education said in a report.

By law, business owners are obliged to grant up to one year off of work to their employees with kids aged six or younger when they request to do so to care for the child.

On the reason behind why women are not utilizing the parental leave program and other childcare support benefits, 29.9 percent said they feared taking time off would cause work disruptions, while 19.1 percent said it would create a negative vibe among co-workers.

Thirteen percent cited the system’s lack of supplementary measures and 12 percent feared that using the program could a have negative impact on their careers.

But the overall rate of people using various government-led childcare support systems have shown a steady rise and the trend is expected to continue in the future.

A total of 56,735 female workers took parental leave in 2011, up roughly six-fold from 9,123 in 2004, according to government tally.

About 64 percent of the 56,735 workers used the leave after taking a 90-day baby break while the share was only 24.1 percent in 2004.

“We need to alert companies to the danger of violating laws related to the baby break and parental leave by taking legal measures against habitual offenders,” the think tank said. (Yonhap News)