The number of male workers taking paternity leave surged nearly 30 percent last year, government data showed Monday.

A total of 1,790 male employees took paternity leave last year, a 27.6 percent increase from the previous year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said in its report.

The number of men temporarily leaving the office to take care of their children, however, was far below that of female workers. Of 64,069 workers taking parental leave, men accounted for just 2.8 percent in 2012.

The proportion of male workers in the figure is the largest since the government introduced the measure allowing parental leave in 1987. Fathers and mothers of small children are both eligible for paid parental leave for up to one year.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)