SEOUL - Even as a record-high proportion of South Korean women remain employed while married and raising children, government data showed on Nov 20 that over 40 per cent of women who pause their careers do not return to the workplace for at least 10 years.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics, 64.3 per cent of married women aged 15 to 54 who live with children under 18 were employed in the first half of 2025.