150 Million KRW for Unpaid Leave Workers at Duty-Free Shops... No Retroactive Payment, General Industries to Implement in June

Special Employment Support, 4 Additional Industries Designated... Rapid Support for Unpaid Leave
Up to 5x Additional Penalties for Fraudulent Claims... Excluding Businesses with Fewer Than 10 Employees
Unpaid Leave Support for General Industries Possible Only in June... Due to Enforcement Decree Amendment

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Four industries severely affected by COVID-19, including aircraft handling and duty-free shops, will be added to the government's special employment support sectors. Workers in these industries who enter unpaid leave for more than a month will receive support payments of up to 1.5 million KRW. However, unpaid leave taken previously will not be applied retroactively. As the COVID-19 situation is already stabilizing, it is expected to be difficult to avoid criticism of this being a 'belated measure.'

On the 27th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it has additionally designated four industries?aircraft handling (ground handling), duty-free shops, exhibition and international conference industries, and airport buses?as special employment support sectors, and will strengthen support for employers and workers in these sectors. The support period is the same as for previously designated special employment support sectors such as travel, tourism accommodation, tourism transportation, and performance industries, lasting until September 15.

Four industries including duty-free shops added... Approximately 70,000 beneficiaries expected

The Ministry of Employment and Labor took this measure because these industries have suffered direct damage from COVID-19 and are expected to have difficulty recovering in the near future. Employment retention subsidies will cover up to 90% of leave and suspension allowances, and benefits such as extensions of payment deadlines for employment and industrial accident insurance premiums and mandatory employment levies for the disabled, as well as vocational training support, will be provided. Approximately 3,800 workplaces and 70,000 workers in these four industries are expected to benefit. A ministry official stated, "The newly designated industries are closely related to the already designated tourism and performance industries and are highly dependent on overseas conditions. We plan to comprehensively consider the employment impact of COVID-19 and review whether to designate additional industries."

Support for unpaid leave in special employment support sectors will proceed on two tracks. First, from today, a new 'Unpaid Leave Rapid Support Program' will be implemented. If unpaid leave is taken for 30 days or more, workers can receive 500,000 KRW per month for up to three months, totaling a maximum of 1.5 million KRW. Employers and employees must agree and report the unpaid leave seven days before it begins.

There was already an unpaid leave support program for special employment support sectors. If paid leave is taken for one month followed by unpaid leave for 30 days or more, workers can receive up to 66,000 KRW per day (1.98 million KRW per month), about 50% of their average wage, for six months. Employers can choose to apply for either the existing program or the newly established one, and the support payments are made to the workers. Employers who have suffered revenue losses must submit an unpaid leave employment retention plan and receive approval from the employment center before implementing unpaid leave to receive support.

If unpaid leave is not implemented according to the employment retention plan or if documents are falsified to meet support requirements, payment of support funds will be restricted, and penalties including up to five times additional collection may be imposed.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the in-flight meal preparation area inside Korean Air's catering center was quiet on the 2nd as the airline industry suffers significant losses. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

General industries to receive unpaid leave support only in June... Concerns over 'belated measures'

Manpower supply (dispatch) companies, which were previously in the blind spot of government employment retention support measures, will also be eligible for special employment support sector assistance. For example, if a manpower supply company operating at an airport has more than 50% of its revenue related to aircraft handling, it qualifies for support. The Unpaid Leave Rapid Support Program can be accessed regardless of revenue criteria.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor decided on the 27th not to provide retroactive support for unpaid leave taken before this date. They judged that retroactive support would make it difficult to verify actual unpaid leave and increase the risk of fraudulent claims and system abuse. However, as the COVID-19 situation is rapidly stabilizing, it is expected that the number of workplaces implementing unpaid leave for 30 days or more will be limited going forward.

The Unpaid Leave Rapid Support Program for industries other than the special employment support sectors is expected to be implemented only in June. A ministry official explained, "It takes more than a month to go through procedures such as legislative notice for the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act."

There is also a limitation in that the program targets only workplaces with 10 or more insured employees. A ministry official stated, "Unpaid leave support excludes workplaces with fewer than 10 employees to minimize infringement on workers' rights, as unpaid leave in small workplaces is more likely to be implemented unilaterally by the employer."

Meanwhile, unpaid leave support cannot be received simultaneously with employment promotion subsidies, employment creation subsidies, elderly employment extension subsidies, youth additional employment subsidies, or similar COVID-19 response projects such as regional employment special support projects.

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