Male workers will be able to have up to five days off for paternity leave when their wives give birth under a revision bill that passed the Cabinet meeting Tuesday, the government said.

Workers can currently get three days of unpaid leave when their spouses give birth. The bill, which awaits parliamentary approval, calls for giving them three days of paid leave and an additional two days of unpaid leave, the government said.

Under the bill, employers will be charged a penalty of 5 million won (US$4,666) if they reject a worker's request to work shorter hours to accommodate infant care or to take time off to care for sick family members.

During the Cabinet meeting, the government also approved a bill allowing female workers to use up to 44 days out of their 90-day maternity leave before they give birth. Currently, splitting maternity leave into two parts -- before and after the birth -- is not allowed.

The bills were proposed by the government to make it easier for women to maintain their careers and take care of their families at the same time, officials said.

South Korea's birthrate, which is the average number of children born to each woman in her lifetime, currently stands at around 1.226 babies. This is much lower than the average birthrate of 1.71 tallied for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (Yonhap News)