與 "Solving the COVID-19 Blind Spot" vs 野 "Don't You Even Understand Insurance Principles?"... Nationwide Employment Insurance Debate

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap attended the "Minpyeongryeon Current Issues Meeting - The Meaning and Future of the National Employment Insurance System" forum held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, greeting Woo Won-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Peace People's Solidarity (Minpyeongryeon), one of the main factions of the ruling Democratic Party, invited Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap on the 23rd to hold a roundtable discussion under the theme "The Moon Jae-in Government, the Meaning and Future Tasks of the National Employment Insurance System." Discussions on the national employment insurance system are gaining momentum within the ruling party. Meanwhile, 'economic experts' from opposition parties such as the United Future Party have been raising doubts about the feasibility of the system day after day, accelerating policy debates in the political arena.

Minister Lee, who presented at the roundtable, reaffirmed the government's policy on the system, stating, "To address the social blind spots revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we intend to implement a national employment insurance system that protects all working individuals under employment insurance."

Minister Lee identified the updating of income information for all employed persons as a prerequisite task. Based on this, he proposed a complete overhaul of the system to apply and collect insurance premiums from all employed persons, including freelancers and self-employed individuals. Strengthening the income information sharing system between the National Tax Service and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service was highlighted as a key issue. He also pointed out the need to address income tax imposition by employment type and the insurance premium burden on employers who contract with special employment workers as other prerequisite tasks.

Minister Lee said, "We need to accurately grasp income information for all employed persons and expand income information sharing between the National Tax Service and the Korea Employment Insurance Corporation. We must also resolve issues related to the cost burden of insurance premiums due to the expansion of employment insurance, stakeholder consent, and infrastructure expansion." He added, "To smoothly resolve these tasks, it is necessary to build social consensus, prepare rational alternatives, and support related laws. I ask for the special attention of lawmakers for this."

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, and Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju Province, are attending the Social Safety Net 4.0 Policy Forum held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the other hand, the United Future Party shows a critical stance toward the government and ruling party's policy direction. Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, recently stated in an interview with a media outlet, "That is the talk of people who do not even understand the principles of insurance. The principle of insurance is to enroll those who can be insured." He argued, "How can you include unemployed people in employment insurance? No matter how political it is, logically inconsistent things cannot be done politically."

Yoo Kyung-joon, a United Future Party lawmaker who served as the chief economist at KDI and as commissioner of Statistics Korea, also criticized the system's promotion, saying, "It is nothing but a political slogan that misleads the public." He pointed out the need for a detailed blueprint on how to resolve the extensive blind spots in employment insurance, the level of coverage, and the burden of insurance premiums. Yoo argued that with 51% of all employed persons outside the coverage of employment insurance and the self-employed avoiding enrollment, nationwide enrollment is neither feasible nor easy to finance.

However, he predicted that including public officials and teachers in the mandatory employment insurance coverage would make the realization of national employment insurance as a social safety net possible. Despite the employment insurance fund recording losses exceeding 2 trillion won, if 1.6 million stable occupational groups such as public officials and teachers enroll in employment insurance, it would be possible to secure about 2.5 trillion won annually. Yoo said, "For national employment insurance to be realized as a social safety net, it must be designed to include mandatory nationwide enrollment like the National Health Insurance and incorporate income redistribution functions."

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