316 Billion KRW Additional Contingency Budget Allocated to Expand Family Care Support...Approved at Cabinet Meeting

Expected Benefits for a Total of 120,000 Households, Worth 52.9 Billion Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that an additional 31.6 billion KRW in contingency funds to extend the emergency family care cost support period from the existing 5 days to a maximum of 10 days was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 14th. Accordingly, the maximum support amount per worker will also be expanded from 250,000 KRW (up to 500,000 KRW combined for couples) to 500,000 KRW per worker (up to 1,000,000 KRW combined for couples).

Through this extension of the support period and additional budget allocation, it is expected that a total of 120,000 households will benefit from the family care cost support. Since the application process for emergency family care cost support began on March 16, a total of 64,648 applications have been received as of the 13th.

Until the 8th of this month, an average of 3,100 applications were received daily, but after the announcement of the support period extension at the Crisis Management Meeting on the 9th, the number of applications surged significantly with 5,109 on the 10th and 5,616 on the 14th. By region, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon areas accounted for the largest number with 24,164 people (37.4%), followed by Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam areas with 11,190 people (17.3%), and Seoul with 10,114 people (15.6%), each exceeding 10,000 applicants.

Other regions include Daejeon and Chungcheong areas with 7,326 people (11.3%), Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas with 6,631 people (10.3%), and Gwangju, Jeolla, and Jeju areas with 5,223 people (8.1%) applying for family care costs. As of the 13th, the budget execution rate stands at 41.6%, with an average payment of 226,000 KRW per application. For detailed information on family care leave and emergency family care cost support, visit the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s website, Facebook, Appanet, or contact the Ministry’s consultation center.

Song Hongseok, Director of the Integrated Employment Policy Bureau, explained, "The significant increase in applications after the announcement of the support period extension is believed to be due to workers who have already used all 10 days of family care leave additionally applying for cost support."

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