Welcome Financial Group said on Jan. 12 that group affiliates Welcome Savings Bank and Welcome F&D were selected as family-friendly certified companies in a programme overseen by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

In the review, Welcome Savings Bank scored 85.3 points and Welcome F&D scored 79.6 points, winning new certification.

Among the group's family-friendly programmes, its multi-child allowance and parent support allowance provide up to 900,000 won a month to employees with 3 or more children. It also pays a monthly parent support allowance if a current employee's parents, or the parents of the employee's spouse, are aged 65 or older.

Welcome Savings Bank also showed support for childbirth and childcare, with 98 percent of female employees in the childcare period using parental leave or reduced working hours. That level was well above the overall average for newly certified companies of 58.9 percent and the average for large companies of 72.5 percent.

Use of spousal paternity leave of 10 days or more stood at 100 percent, and the employment retention rate after childbirth and childcare leave for male and female employees was tallied at 86.4 percent.

A Welcome Financial Group official said, "Family-friendly management is a key factor that goes beyond welfare to enhance an organisation's sustainability and competitiveness." The official added, "We will further strengthen an organisational culture that values work-life balance and create a working environment where employees can plan stable long-term careers."