Lee Jae-gap "Promoting Employment Insurance Application for Special Types of Workers... Establishing a Roadmap to Eliminate Blind Spots"

Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor / Photo by Jin-hyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated on the 21st, "We will pursue with determination to ensure that the bill for applying employment insurance to special employment workers (SEWs) can be passed within this year."

Minister Lee held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office in the morning regarding the Job Seeker Employment Promotion Act and the Employment Insurance Act amendments passed by the National Assembly plenary session the previous day, saying, "It is regrettable that the application of employment insurance to SEWs was not passed in this National Assembly session."

Regarding the plan to apply the employment insurance system to SEWs, he said, "We will first apply it to occupations with high exclusivity and then gradually expand the scope of application."

He added, "By the end of this year, we will prepare a roadmap to eliminate blind spots in employment insurance for the 'Era of Universal Employment Insurance,'" and "Afterwards, through social dialogue, we will gradually expand the coverage of employment insurance."

Furthermore, Minister Lee stated, "The damage and suffering caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) are more concentrated on vulnerable groups such as SEWs, freelancers, and self-employed individuals," and "While preparing to implement the National Employment Support System and employment insurance for artists, we will support the livelihood stabilization of SEWs, freelancers, and self-employed persons."

Following the passage of the Job Seeker Employment Promotion Act at the National Assembly plenary session held the previous day, the Korean-style unemployment assistance program, the 'National Employment Support System,' will be implemented starting January 1 next year.

The National Employment Support System is a program that provides job seekers outside the employment insurance system, such as low-income groups, women with career interruptions, and unemployed youth, with a job-seeking promotion allowance of 500,000 KRW per month for six months and employment support services.

Minister Lee said, "In the future, more than 2 million people annually will be protected by the employment safety net, including about 1.4 million through unemployment benefits under the primary safety net of employment insurance, and about 600,000 through the secondary safety net of the National Employment Support System (in 2022)."

The amendments to the Employment Insurance Act and the Employment Insurance Premium Collection Act, which expand the scope of employment insurance coverage to include artists, also passed the plenary session. Artists who have signed cultural and artistic service contracts for a certain period will be eligible for employment insurance. Through this, they will be able to receive unemployment benefits and maternity benefits at levels similar to regular workers.

Minister Lee said, "Since 2013, we have been promoting the application of employment insurance to SEWs and artists to eliminate blind spots in employment insurance and strengthen the employment safety net," and "In the 20th National Assembly, the application of employment insurance to artists was prioritized and is scheduled to be implemented from the end of this year."

He continued, "Unlike wage workers, artists will operate the employment insurance system based on cultural and artistic service contracts," and requested, "We ask those working in the arts industry to also make efforts such as signing written contracts."

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