Gyeongnam Province Becomes First Local Government to Contribute to Joint Workers' Welfare Fund

KAI and 20 Partner Companies' 1,778 Employees Receive 1.7 Million KRW Welfare Benefits Per Person

Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government Building Exterior View

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] On the 26th, Gyeongnam Province announced that it will contribute 600 million KRW to the establishment of the ‘KAI Partner Companies Joint Labor Welfare Fund’ at the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) main conference room, together with four cities within the province.

The signing ceremony was attended by Park Jong-won, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs, Ahn Hyun-ho, CEO of KAI, Song Do-geun, Mayor of Sacheon, Jo Gyu-il, Mayor of Jinju, Jo Young-jin, Deputy Mayor of Changwon, Jo Hyun-myung, Deputy Mayor of Gimhae, and Kwon Tae-sung, Director of the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office.

The ‘KAI Hanaro Joint Labor Welfare Fund’ has raised 3.2 billion KRW, with 500 million KRW from KAI, 500 million KRW from 20 partner companies, and 600 million KRW contributed by Gyeongnam Province and the four cities where the partner companies are located. The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service matched this with 1.6 billion KRW in national funds.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced plans to significantly expand support for ‘Joint Labor Welfare Funds.’ The province plans to increase the national funding support limit from 50% to 100% of the contribution amount and extend the support period from three to five years. When the local governments in charge contribute to the joint labor welfare fund, they will provide additional support by matching 100% up to a limit of 600 million KRW.

This is the first case nationwide where a local government has contributed to a joint labor welfare fund, making it even more meaningful as the contributions were jointly prepared through multiple consultations between metropolitan and basic local governments.

Through this fund, 1,778 employees of 20 KAI partner companies will receive benefits of about 1.7 million KRW per person in the form of living support such as ‘health check-up expenses, holiday vacation expenses, and tuition support.’ The fund corporation announced plans to first revitalize the local economy, which has been depressed due to COVID-19, by providing 200,000 KRW worth of local love gift certificates per employee to the 1,778 employees.

Deputy Governor Park said, “Cooperation between primary and subcontractors will be a great help in overcoming the difficult economic situation,” and added, “We will not spare support at the provincial level for companies that voluntarily engage in win-win cooperation.”

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