Fertility Benefits for Employers in South Korea

Written by Anna Haotanto, Founder, Zora Health. Last reviewed: November 2026. General information, not legal or medical advice. This guide covers IVF and egg freezing costs, public funding, the rules and how to build a fertility benefit.

Why fertility is a business problem for employers

Fertility treatment does not fit around a work calendar. A clinic sets the date of a scan the day before. Egg collection happens when the body is ready, usually about 36 hours after a final trigger injection. Then comes a two-week wait, and for many couples, another cycle. Your team feels it: missed meetings, unexplained absences, a strong performer who suddenly goes quiet.

Most employees hide treatment because they fear being seen as less committed. That is why the cost stays invisible in your reports. It shows up instead as:

• Resignations. 4 in 10 female wage workers going through infertility treatment resigned, many after running out of leave, according to a 2021 Korean Women’s Development Institute study reported by Asia Business Daily.
• Lower performance. 55% of 5,000 people surveyed in Canada, India, Mexico, the UK and the US for Carrot’s 2023 Global Fertility at Work report said fertility challenges hurt their work performance.
• Men too. 300,401 people were treated for infertility in 2024, up 31.4% from 2020, and 108,358 of them were men (National Health Insurance Service via The Korea Herald). A benefit written only for women misses a third of the people who need it.
• Unequal treatment. An employee in Seoul can get half her egg freezing costs back, up to ₩2 million. A colleague in Gyeonggi qualifies only with an income test and low ovarian reserve, and support in other regions varies or is unavailable.

What employers gain

What IVF costs, and what the state pays

National Health Insurance covers infertility treatment. Since February 2024 the limit has been 25 procedures: 20 IVF cycles, fresh or frozen, and 5 IUI. From November 2024 that limit applies per childbirth, and the co-pay is 30% at every age (Ministry of Health and Welfare via SBS Biz).

IVF costs: Banksalad, July 2026, citing Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service fee data; treat as a guide. Egg freezing: Etoday, May 2026. Storage: Kormedi, August 2025.

Sources: Seoul Metropolitan Government, October 2024, Asia Business Daily on fertility preservation, April 2025 and Kyunghyang Shinmun on Seoul egg freezing, February 2024.

Age is one of the strongest predictors of IVF success, alongside individual medical and treatment factors. In 2022, 43.8% of fresh IVF procedures led to a pregnancy for women aged 25 to 29, against 20.5% for women aged 40 to 44.

The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service reports 42.9% for women aged 30 to 34, 37.5% for 35 to 39 and 4.5% for 45 and above. These are pregnancy rates, so live birth rates are lower. The average patient was 37.9, and many couples need more than one cycle, which is why the size of an allowance, and when employees can use it, matter as much as whether you offer one.

Fertility support that fits your workforce and budget

You do not need to overhaul your existing health insurance to support employees through fertility treatment. Start with awareness and manager education, add confidential one-to-one support, or introduce a funded allowance across your offices. There is no minimum company size.

Where included in the employer programme, eligible employees can use talks and care navigation without paying Zora a separate fee. Care navigation allowances are set in each proposal. Treatment and other third-party costs are paid separately, either by employees or through the fertility allowance their employer provides.

Optional add-ons can be added to any programme, subject to availability: hormone and fertility diagnostics and telehealth with specialists. Pricing is tailored to your headcount, your countries and the services you choose. Most companies start with a single talk.

Request a proposal See how Zora works for employers

Plan your fertility benefit budget

Already have corporate health insurance? Here is where Zora fits

Your medical plan may cover some consultations and tests, but fertility treatment is often limited or excluded, so check your policy wording. Employees still need to understand their options, the public funding they qualify for and which clinic suits them.

Zora works alongside your existing insurance and benefits. We help employees get reliable information, navigate their care options and reach suitable specialists, and we give HR manager guidance, policy templates and, on the Complete programme, anonymised reporting. You strengthen fertility support without replacing your medical plan.

How Zora works

For your employees

Employees join the Zora app with a company code, or single sign-on for larger teams. They can learn about fertility and egg freezing, understand what your benefit covers, book a confidential care navigation call and find partner clinics and specialists.

For HR

1. Kick-off, week 1. Agree goals, countries and which employees are eligible.
2. Policy and benefit design, weeks 2 to 4. Draft or update your fertility policy using our templates.
3. Launch, typically weeks 4 to 6. A launch talk for employees and managers, plus a communications pack for HR to send.
4. Live support. Employees book care navigation calls and use the Zora app.
5. Reporting, every 3 months, on the Complete programme. Anonymised usage, common themes and our recommendations, reviewed with your account manager.

Privacy

Employee privacy is central to our programmes. On the Complete programme, routine employer reports contain aggregated engagement and utilisation information, with safeguards to prevent identification of individual employees. On every programme, personal health information is not included in standard HR reporting, and employees can get help without telling their manager. Where eligibility checks or claims administration need individual-level data, access is limited to authorised parties for defined purposes, as agreed in writing before launch. Employee data is handled in line with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act and South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act, which requires separate consent for health information.

Clinics and doctors in South Korea

Zora’s directory lists 9 clinics and 31 doctors in South Korea. Locations include Seoul and Incheon. Of these clinics, 6 list IVF and 6 list egg freezing.

Employees can browse clinics in South Korea, see IVF clinics and find a doctor in South Korea on the Zora app. The directory is for information only and is not an endorsement. See Zora’s employer guides for every country.

Rules and eligibility in South Korea

Why employers choose Zora

Companies including Hilton, LinkedIn, Sanofi, HSBC, Mastercard, Carousell and Singapore Management University work with Zora Health. We work alongside your existing insurance, helping employees use the cover they already have and find suitable specialists based on their needs.

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Trying to conceive with a heavy workload took a toll on my husband and me. It helped us understand our options.

Questions HR teams ask us

Is infertility leave mandatory in South Korea?

Yes. Employees can take 6 days of infertility treatment leave a year. The first 2 days are paid, rising to 4 paid days from 27 November 2026, and employers must keep the leave confidential.

Does National Health Insurance cover IVF?

Yes. IVF and IUI are covered at a 30% co-pay for up to 25 procedures per childbirth, and a government subsidy pays part of the remaining cost for eligible couples.

Can a single employee use a company egg freezing benefit?

Yes. Elective egg freezing is lawful for unmarried women. Using the eggs in IVF is currently limited to married and de facto couples under medical guidelines.

Does Zora replace our health insurance?

No. Zora works alongside your insurance. We help employees understand their options, find suitable specialists and use the cover they already have.

How much does a fertility benefit cost an employer?

It depends on the allowance, eligibility and expected uptake. Use the budget planner on this page for a first estimate, then ask us for a tailored proposal based on your headcount and countries.

How quickly can we launch?

Typically 4 to 6 weeks from contract to launch, depending on scope and countries. Most companies start with a single talk.

Related guides for South Korea employers

Information on this page is correct as of 5 November 2026. Laws, public funding, insurance rules and treatment costs change often, so check current rules with the relevant authority, insurer or a qualified adviser before making decisions. This page is general information, not legal, financial, tax or medical advice.