Despite Criticism Over "Unemployment Benefits for Special Workers," Ministry of Employment Remains Unyielding (Comprehensive)

Mandatory Enrollment Law for Special Employment Insurance to Be Submitted to National Assembly This Week
No Reflection of Business Community's Requests..."Processing to Be Promoted Within This Year"
Rough Road Expected from the Start of 'Universal Employment Insurance' Introduction

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] A bill mandating the enrollment of special-type workers (teukso hyeongtae geunrosangsa, or teukgo), such as insurance planners and substitute drivers, in employment insurance will be submitted to the National Assembly this week. The government aims to process the bill within this year to take a step closer to the era of 'universal employment insurance.' However, controversy is expected as the legislation is being pushed forward without reflecting the opinions of the business community.

On the 8th, the government reviewed and approved amendments to the 'Employment Insurance Act' and the 'Act on the Collection of Insurance Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance,' which fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, at the Cabinet meeting. The amendments focus on automatically enrolling teukgo in employment insurance and providing unemployment benefits to those who have paid premiums for at least 12 months out of the 24 months prior to unemployment. Only the section on applying employment insurance to artists passed in the 20th National Assembly, leading to a re-push in the 21st National Assembly. Kwon Ki-seop, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "The amendment bill is scheduled to be submitted to the National Assembly this week," adding, "We will support the legislation to ensure the bill is processed within this year."

The enrollment of teukgo in employment insurance is the first step toward the government's universal employment insurance system. The government’s goal is to enroll all workers in employment insurance by 2025 to eliminate blind spots. However, the process is not smooth from the start, as the business community has clearly opposed some parts of the teukgo employment insurance law. Although the Ministry of Employment and Labor received opinions from business organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, these were not reflected in the bill, which was approved at the Cabinet meeting as originally announced.

On the 22nd, when the government began accepting offline applications for the 'COVID-19 Emergency Employment Stability Support Fund,' which provides 1.5 million KRW per person to special employment workers (such as private tutors) struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, freelancers, small business owners, and unpaid leave workers, citizens were submitting their applications in person at the Employment Welfare Plus Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Looking at the main issues, the business community opposes the 50-50 split of employment insurance premiums between employers and teukgo, the same as general workers. They argue that since teukgo differ from general workers in contracts, work, and income types and have characteristics similar to 'business partners' and self-employed individuals, the employer’s contribution should be reduced to about one-third. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official stated, "Details such as premium rates and eligible occupations will be determined by enforcement ordinances." He added, "The enforcement ordinances will be finalized through deliberations by the Employment Insurance Committee, which includes labor, management, and experts. Economic organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation are also included in the committee, so various opinions will be reflected."

The business community also suggested that broad exceptions should be allowed for mandatory enrollment. They pointed out that teukgo have strong independence and individuality compared to general workers, making uniform regulation difficult, and that countries like Spain and Italy operate on a voluntary enrollment basis. They especially argued that high-income teukgo with low social protection needs should be excluded from enrollment. The Ministry of Employment and Labor, however, holds a firm stance. To preserve the purpose and effectiveness of the system, teukgo must be mandatorily enrolled without exceptions. A ministry official explained, "The current amendment does not allow for exemption applications," adding, "In the case of industrial accident insurance for teukgo, exemption applications are allowed, but only 16% are enrolled."

The business community also requested that the employment insurance finances for teukgo and general workers be managed separately. They expressed concerns that integrating premium income and unemployment benefit expenditures for both groups amid a two-year deficit in the employment insurance fund could cause financial issues and conflicts among insured parties. In response, Director Kwon stated, "Although employment insurance coverage has been expanded by workplace size and to daily workers, accounts have not been separated each time, so there are no plans to separate accounts now." He added, "We have not found cases in other countries where only teukgo are managed with separate accounts."

A representative from the Korea Employers Federation expressed regret, saying, "The promise in the labor-management-government agreement to 'consider the characteristics of teukgo and gather opinions from labor, management, and the parties involved' has not been kept, and the business community’s position has hardly been accepted," adding, "We will strive to ensure industry opinions are reflected during the National Assembly discussions." He criticized, "Although we participate in the Employment Insurance Committee, it is like a 'tilted playing field.' The business community’s position is a minority opinion," and pointed out, "It is problematic to regulate important matters in enforcement ordinances."

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