Seoul City to Provide 500,000 Won Monthly Support to Youths Who Lost Part-Time Jobs Due to COVID-19

Seoul City Provides Emergency 'Youth Allowance' Support for 2 Months... Freelance Support Project Also Open for Applications

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Seoul Metropolitan Government will urgently provide a 'Youth Allowance' of 500,000 KRW per month for two months to young people whose part-time jobs or work opportunities have been suspended. It has also decided to support business expenses of up to 10 million KRW by selecting business ideas from young freelancers responding to the infectious disease crisis.

On the 12th, Seoul announced that it will promote four series of the 'Youth Emergency Support Project,' which are planned directly by young people.

First, applications will be accepted from unemployed youth aged 19 to 34 who involuntarily quit part-time jobs, hourly or daily short-term work after January 20 due to COVID-19, and about 500 people will be supported with a 'Youth Allowance' of 500,000 KRW per month for two months. The application period is until the 20th.

Seoul explained that this support will provide practical help to young people such as part-timers who had to quit because the store they worked at was not doing well, and job seekers whose regular employment was canceled during the probation period.

Freelancers such as designers, instructors, and lyricists whose work was suspended due to business delays or order cancellations can apply for the 'Youth Freelancer Rapid Support Project,' which develops non-face-to-face and online creative content. Seoul plans to accept applications weekly until the 26th, conduct evaluations, and promptly support business expenses of up to 10 million KRW.

So far, the submitted business proposals include various stories of freelancers whose work was suspended due to COVID-19, such as independent film producers struggling with postponed shooting schedules and child counselors who lost jobs due to the suspension of face-to-face counseling, along with ideas to overcome these challenges, the city added.

The 'Youth Small Business Emergency Support' will compensate for the sales decline of workers in the food service industry while filling the care gap for vulnerable groups caused by the temporary closure of welfare centers. Each autonomous district will take the lead in delivering home-cooked meal boxes supplied by young small business owners to vulnerable groups, with the delivery conducted in a non-face-to-face manner to minimize contact between people.

Seoul will select autonomous districts wishing to participate and provide subsidies, and each district will discover and select young small business owners and beneficiaries in March to implement the project.

Ten young creators, whose opportunities to engage in activities have decreased, developed and produced experiential class content called 'Bang-guseok Learning Classroom' where kindergarten and elementary school students, who have to spend time at home due to school delays, can learn magic, singing, dance, and more. Ten creators specializing in fields such as magicians, musicians, and dancers collaborated with TBS Traffic Broadcasting to produce and broadcast the content, which can be viewed anytime on the TBS YouTube channel.

In addition, Seoul plans to extend the payment deadlines and temporarily reduce management fees for tenant organizations at 'Cheongnyeoncheong,' a youth activity space within Seoul Innovation Park.

Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul, said, "As COVID-19 continues, the number of young people losing jobs and falling out of the labor safety net is increasing, so we have prepared extraordinary measures to overcome this." He added, "Through this emergency support project series planned by the youth themselves, I hope that not only young people but also self-employed workers and vulnerable groups will be able to alleviate their difficulties together."

For more details, please check the announcements on the Seoul Youth Portal (youth.seoul.go.kr).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.