Government to Invest 3.6 Trillion Won to Create 550,000 Public and Youth Short-Term Part-Time Jobs

Announcement of the Ministry of Employment's 'Special Employment Stability Measures'
10 Trillion Won Scale... Comprehensive Public Jobs and Unemployment Measures
Establishment of 'Rapid Support Program for Unpaid Leave'

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government will invest 3.6 trillion won to create an additional 550,000 public and youth jobs. Up to 930,000 people, including small business owners outside the scope of employment insurance, special-type workers (teukgo), and unpaid leave workers, will receive support payments of up to 1.5 million won. Additionally, airport ground handling, duty-free shops, exhibition and international conference industries, and airport buses will be newly designated as special employment support sectors.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced a "Special Employment Stability Plan" in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This comprehensive plan, covering employment retention, unemployment measures, and safety nets for blind spots, is expected to benefit 2.86 million people with a total budget of 10 trillion won.

The government is allocating the largest portion of resources to the public job sector. It will invest 1 trillion won to employ 100,000 people in non-face-to-face (untact) digital government jobs. These jobs involve IT-related tasks with minimal face-to-face contact, as well as work in quarantine and environmental protection. The jobs are short-term, lasting up to six months, with weekly working hours between 15 and 40 hours, and wages at or above the minimum wage.

Furthermore, 300,000 vulnerable people such as the unemployed and closed small business owners will be provided with outdoor public jobs in quarantine, forest disaster prevention, and environmental protection. These are also short-term jobs lasting up to six months, with less than 30 hours per week and wages at or above the minimum wage. The government will invest 1.5 trillion won in this effort.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Separately, to support youth vulnerable to the COVID-19 shock, the government will spend 1.06 trillion won to create 150,000 private sector jobs. These are divided into three projects: ▲Youth Digital Jobs ▲Youth Work Experience Support ▲Hiring Subsidies for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Mid-sized Companies.

While creating 50,000 private sector jobs that utilize IT (with a monthly salary of 1.8 million won), the government will provide 800,000 won per month for six months to businesses that hire youth despite limited hiring capacity due to COVID-19. For SMEs and mid-sized companies that hire youth workers who changed jobs during the COVID-19 impact period or belong to special employment support sectors, a hiring subsidy of 1 million won per month will be paid for six months.

Small business owners outside the scope of employment insurance, special-type workers, freelancers, and unpaid leave workers will receive emergency employment stability support payments of 500,000 won per month for up to three months. This is targeted at those whose income or sales have sharply declined due to COVID-19. This project, with a budget of 1.5 trillion won, aims to support 930,000 people.

Due to a surge in unemployment benefit applications, the unemployment benefit budget will be expanded by 3.4 trillion won. This considers the 24.6% increase in new unemployment benefit applicants as of last month. It is expected that an additional 490,000 people will benefit from this.

By the end of this month, airport ground handling, duty-free shops, exhibition and international conference industries, and airport buses will be newly designated as special employment support sectors. Workers belonging to manpower supply companies primarily performing airport ground handling tasks will also be supported as if they belong to special employment support sectors.

Additionally, a "Rapid Support Program for Unpaid Leave" with a budget of 480 billion won will be newly established. Special employment support sectors will receive support immediately upon unpaid leave, while general sectors will receive support after one month of paid employment retention measures before unpaid leave. The support is 500,000 won per month for three months. The government expects 320,000 unpaid leave workers to benefit.

For workplaces that find it difficult to pay leave allowances and thus cannot apply for employment retention subsidies, a "Employment Retention Fund Loan Project" will be implemented. This project, with a budget of 100 billion won, requires an amendment to the enforcement decree. Employers submit an employment retention plan and prove that the subsidy will be used for wages, allowing for advance payment of leave allowances.

The Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund, paying 500,000 won per month for up to six months, will be expanded by 130 billion won to support an additional 50,000 people. The loan limit for workers' living expenses will be raised from 20 million won to 30 million won, supporting an additional 20,000 people. The Employment Success Package project will invest 130 billion won to additionally support 110,000 low-income people, special-type workers, freelancers, and youth.

Moreover, workplaces that sign employment retention agreements with labor and maintain employment for a certain period will receive a portion of the wage reduction for six months. A budget of 50 billion won will be invested in this.

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