Gwangju City Opens Applications for Livelihood Support for Special Employment and Unemployed Workers

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 9th that it will begin accepting applications from the 13th for support for low-income special employment workers and unemployed individuals, as part of the '3rd Livelihood Stabilization Measures to Protect the Local Economy from COVID-19' announced on the 23rd of last month.

The support targets are special employment workers, freelancers, unemployed individuals, and unpaid leave workers from households with an income at or below 100% of the median income, who have their resident registration in Gwangju City from the policy announcement date of the 23rd of last month until the application date.

The city limited eligibility to households with income at or below 100% of the median income to expand practical support for low-income special employment workers and unemployed individuals.

Applications will be accepted from the 13th of this month until the 22nd of next month, and proxies with a power of attorney may also apply.

However, to comply with the government's extended and strengthened high-intensity social distancing measures until the 19th, applications from the 13th to the 19th will be accepted only online (via the city’s homepage), and from the 20th until the application deadline on the 22nd of next month, both online applications and on-site applications at 95 administrative welfare centers will be accepted concurrently.

Special employment workers, freelancers, unemployed individuals, and unpaid leave workers will receive up to 500,000 KRW per month (for up to 2 months).

However, the total amount paid, including ongoing applications for emergency household living expenses, special employment living expenses, and unemployment/leave living expenses, will be capped at 1,000,000 KRW per household.

Since eligibility criteria and proof methods differ by support target, special attention is required when preparing application documents.

Special employment workers and freelancers are those who have not been enrolled in employment insurance for the three months prior to the application date, and whose income has decreased by 25% or more compared to the income before and after February 3, when the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Gwangju.

Applications must include the application form, consent form for collection and use of personal information, documents proving special employment or freelancer status, and documents proving income reduction.

The city excluded delivery drivers and quick service workers from this special employment and freelancer support target, considering the business conditions.

Unemployed individuals are those who are not eligible for unemployment benefits and who lost their jobs after February 3 at workplaces with fewer than 100 employees located in Gwangju. They must have worked at least 15 hours per week for more than 3 months before unemployment, and the unemployment period must be at least 5 days per month.

Unemployed applicants must submit the application form, consent form for collection and use of personal information, employer’s confirmation of unemployment, and the applicant’s employment confirmation.

Unpaid leave workers are employment insurance subscribers who have been on unpaid leave for 5 days or more as of February 3 at workplaces with fewer than 100 employees located in Gwangju.

Unpaid leave workers must submit the application form, employer’s confirmation of unpaid leave, and the applicant’s employment confirmation.

To expedite support, Gwangju City will utilize income verification results for households with income at or below 100% of the median income from applications for emergency household living expenses, which have been accepted since the 1st of this month, and will verify submitted applications and proof documents to determine final recipients and payment amounts.

However, those who have received temporary living support for low-income households, COVID-19 living expense support, emergency welfare support, youth allowances, or unemployment benefits will be excluded from this living expense support.

Living expenses will be paid via a prepaid Gwangju Win-Win Card, which can only be used within the Gwangju area, and must be used within 3 months from the payment date.

Park Nam-eon, Director of the Job and Economy Office of Gwangju City, said, “We have announced and implemented livelihood stabilization measures five times so far to stabilize the lives of citizens struggling due to COVID-19 and to revitalize the local economy. We will focus all administrative efforts to ensure that eligible citizens are not missed and receive support within a short period.”

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