Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon Discusses Introduction of 'Universal Employment Insurance' with Small Business Associations

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is greeting Kim Myung-hwan, Chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, at his office in Seoul City Hall, Jung-gu, Seoul, on May 27. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] On the afternoon of the 23rd, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon held a 'Meeting to Establish a Social Safety Net for Self-Employed Workers' with five major small business organizations in the mayor's office at Seoul City Hall, building consensus on the introduction of 'Universal Employment Insurance.'

This follows related discussions held last month on the 27th with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) and on the 29th with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) union chairpersons.

Attending the meeting were Bae Dong-wook, President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Kim Jin-cheol, Co-Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small Business and Self-Employed; Heo Seok-jun, Co-Chairman of the National Franchise Owners Association; Jeong In-dae, President of the National Underground Shopping Center Merchants Association; and Kim Kyung-bae, Chairman of the Korea Regional Economy Revitalization Central Association.

Mayor Park plans to discuss measures to introduce universal employment insurance that will fundamentally expand the social safety net for self-employed workers in the post-COVID-19 era, protecting small business owners who have been severely impacted by prolonged employment shocks and livelihood crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, treating it as a social disaster.

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