16,000 Workplaces Apply for Employment Retention Support, Surpassing Financial Crisis Levels...

300 Billion Allocated but Spending Expected to Exceed 300 Billion
Seoul Cheong Inquiry Calls Exceed 2,500 per Day
50-80 Business Owners Receive Subsidy Training Daily
13,000 Workplaces Received Employment Retention Support in 2009

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection causing economic instability, on the 19th, citizens visiting the Seoul Western Employment and Labor Office in Mapo-gu, Seoul, are waiting to apply for unemployment benefits./Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Bo-kyung and Lee Jung-yoon] Lee Mo (51), who has been running a printing shop for 12 years, saw his sales drop by more than 80% after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). He was contemplating whether to put seven of his printing shop employees on unpaid leave. Then, he heard about the Employment Retention Subsidy program, through which the government partially supports wages for companies on temporary closure or leave, and visited the Seoul Employment Welfare Plus Center on the 18th.

He said, "I have never experienced such hardship while running a business," adding, "I want to grasp at even a straw through the Employment Retention Subsidy."

That day, the center was crowded with business owners seeking guidance on applying for the Employment Retention Subsidy. The training was held five times in total from 10 a.m., divided by time slots. Staff members were busy assisting the business owners. A center official said, "Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of Employment Retention Subsidy applications was only about 10 cases annually, but now we receive over 2,500 inquiry calls daily, making it difficult to manage the workload," adding, "Every day, 50 to 80 business owners receive training."

Applications for the Employment Retention Subsidy, which partially supports wages for temporary closure or leave, are flooding in. The number of workplaces deciding on paid leave or temporary closure due to the COVID-19 impact has surpassed that during the financial crisis. Analysts warn that if the COVID-19 situation prolongs, it could trigger an unprecedented employment crisis.

Due to the COVID-19 impact, the Employment Retention Subsidy budget, initially set at around 30 billion won this year, is expected to exceed 300 billion won. In 2009, when the global financial crisis hit, the Employment Retention Subsidy expenditure was 310 billion won. At that time, the number of workplaces benefiting from the subsidy was 13,618, and the number of workers was 941,674.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as of the 18th, the number of workplaces that submitted plans for temporary closure or leave to receive the Employment Retention Subsidy reached 16,223, with 138,281 workers involved. In just a month and a half since the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of workplaces deciding on temporary closure or leave has exceeded the entire annual figure of 2009.

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