Chung Sang-hoon talks to his daughter and son at their apartment in Seoul, South Korea, December 14, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

South Korean President Park Geun-hye has made paternity leave a priority to address the declining birth rate and give a boost to women's careers, and this month she unveiled a multi-billion plan to combat the grim demographic outlook.

Even though mothers and fathers are entitled to equal amounts of childcare leave, just 3,421 men took advantage of the right in 2014. Still, that was double the 1,790 in 2012 who put down the laptops to pick up the children on a full-time basis, according to the labor ministry.

"The entire economy is out of balance," said Na Yeong-don, a senior labor ministry official.

"Women are highly educated and work efficiently but take the whole burden of household chores and childcare while men work very long hours."

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