Nevertheless, the Ministry of Gender Equality found that only 37.7 percent out of 305 companies that it examined gave maternity leave. Only 32.5 percent of the companies gave a full three-month leave; 21 percent gave employees no maternity leave at all. The case was more serious with nonregular workers, as the ministry said only 9.3 percent of the companies gave maternity leave to them.

The Ministry of Labor pointed out that there are just too many companies to supervise, unless employees report their companies to the ministry. The ministry said there were only 12 companies penalized for violating the maternity leave system last year.

In a poll conducted by the Chosun Ilbo and Scout, a job searching company, from July 24 to 30, of 1,262 employed women with children, 62 percent said they "received disadvantages from work after giving birth." About 40 said they got no maternity leave, 25.6 percent said they were recommended to resign, and 10.2 percent said they were cut off from promotions. When 2,587 unmarried women were asked if they thought giving birth would hurt their chances for employment and promotions, 81 percent said "yes."

Koh Kang-shik, chief executive officer of Top Business Consulting Services, said Korean companies avoid hiring pregnant women and therefore women have to choose between work and children. "Women's participation in society is becoming more active, but society cannot support this and thus birthrates are decreasing," he said.

For most women with jobs, childbirth is an adventure. The Korean Women Workers Associations United said about 122 calls were made to its hotline for equality center, or Equaline, regarding childbirth and childcare during the first half of this year, up 38.6 percent from last year. The group said the most difficult hardship for women was not being able to use their maternity leave.

There are no records showing how many employed women gave birth last year. However, only 15,946 women received maternity leave salaries through last September, which is only 13.1 percent of the number the employment insurance company had expected. In other words, four out of five women did not receive a leave guaranteed by the law.

The disadvantages that follow childbirth are another reason why women are complaining. A conglomerate's human resources department chief said, "A person who can receive an A in a merit rating will receive a B after she returns from a maternity leave. The company sees maternity leave as 'resting' and therefore it is unfair to rate the person who has rested with another who worked all year long."

This is why the economic participation rate for Korean women drops suddenly between the ages 25-34, showing an M-shape graph. Most of the OECD member nations went beyond the M-shape graph in the 1970s and '80s.

Lim In-sook, professor at the Korea University Institute of Social Research, pointed out that 64.7 percent of the companies that violated the labor law have past records of violation. Lim said this was because the law is ineffective.

Experts recommend two ways to increase the birthrates of women with jobs: decrease the company's burden and change the corporate atmosphere to a more pro-family atmosphere.

A representative from the Korean Women's Development Institute said, "In most advanced countries, the state supports the salary of those on maternity leave, but companies take on that responsibility in Korea. That is why there are so many companies violating the law." Companies that abide by the labor law need to receive certain privileges and incentives, while companies that violate the law must be checked, he said.

Lee Ki-young, professor at Seoul National University's Consumer and Child Studies department, also said that in order to increase birthrates, the company culture must become more family-friendly.