Hong Nam-ki: "Korean New Deal to be Promoted Focusing on Digitalization and Untact Industries" (Comprehensive)

Special Employment, Self-Employed, and Freelancers to Receive 500,000 KRW Monthly Employment Stability Support for 3 Months

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, said on the 7th, "The Korean New Deal will mainly focus on three major project areas: building digital infrastructure such as data, 5G, and AI; fostering non-face-to-face industries; and digitalizing social overhead capital (SOC). Detailed plans include 10 key priority tasks."

On the same day, Hong held the 2nd Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "The Korean New Deal is a digital-based job creation and economic innovation acceleration project focusing particularly on accelerating the digitalization of our economy and promoting non-face-to-face activities amid economic and social structural changes caused by COVID-19."

He emphasized, "This concept is clearly distinguished from the existing New Deal concept focused on civil engineering projects for economic stimulus." The Korean New Deal centers on three major project areas: ▲building digital infrastructure such as data, 5G, and artificial intelligence (AI), ▲fostering non-face-to-face industries intensively, and ▲digitalizing social overhead capital (SOC).

The 10 key priority tasks include ▲strengthening data infrastructure across the entire lifecycle, ▲expanding data collection and utilization in six core areas that citizens can feel, ▲early establishment of 5G infrastructure, ▲promoting 5G+ convergence and fusion projects, ▲expanding AI data and infrastructure, ▲spreading AI convergence across all industries, ▲creating a foundation for the expansion of non-face-to-face services, ▲strengthening cloud and cybersecurity networks, ▲digitalizing aging national infrastructure, and ▲establishing a digital logistics service system. In this regard, the Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to prepare detailed projects by the end of May and announce the detailed implementation plan for the Korean New Deal in early June.

Additionally, measures were introduced on the same day for special employment types (special workers), freelancers, and small-scale self-employed individuals who are in the blind spots of employment insurance.

Hong said, "If household income is below 100% of the median income, or the applicant’s annual income is below 50 million won, or annual sales are below 150 million won, and income or sales have decreased by 25% or more, employment stability support funds of 500,000 won per month will be provided for three months." The number of beneficiaries is estimated to reach about 930,000 people.

Regarding the employment stability support fund amounting to 1.5 trillion won, he explained, "Considering the urgency of payment, we have decided to spend 940 billion won from the reserve fund," and added, "The remaining required funds will be secured through the 3rd supplementary budget."

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