Revealing Wage Effects of Parenthood in South Korea: Penalties, Premiums, and Patterns

This study examines the wage effects of parenthood in South Korea, with particular attention to gender and occupational categories, using longitudinal data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (1998–2020). Drawing on human capital and compensating wage differential theories, we analyze how motherhood wage penalties and fatherhood wage premiums manifest across different types of employment. Results from fixed-effects regression and locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (LOWESS) demonstrate that parenthood significantly shapes wage outcomes, but with divergent effects: men generally benefit from a fatherhood premium, while women face a motherhood penalty. These penalties are especially pronounced among women employed in office, service, sales, and manufacturing positions, whereas women in top management and professional occupations experience a smaller, though still significant, penalty. The findings further indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing gender wage inequalities. Overall, this study highlights the persistence of parenthood-driven wage disparities in South Korea, underscoring the need for family-friendly labor policies and targeted interventions to mitigate occupationally segmented penalties and promote gender equity in the labor market