Jung Se-kyun: "It is right to conduct the pilot project for sickness benefits mainly for low-income groups"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated that it is appropriate to conduct the pilot project for sick pay mainly targeting low-income groups.

On the afternoon of the 17th, during a government-wide question session on education, social, and cultural fields held at the National Assembly, Prime Minister Chung responded to a question from Seo Young-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who said, "Targeting only low-income groups cannot reflect the characteristics of all eligible candidates. The pilot project for sick pay should be conducted across all income levels."

Prime Minister Chung said, "I am not an expert in this field," but added, "Speaking as an economist and from common sense, who needs sick pay? Sick pay is absolutely necessary for low-income groups." He continued, "My words may be open to misunderstanding, but I think it is wiser to focus on low-income individuals rather than middle- and high-income earners for whom it may or may not matter."

However, he added, "Regarding sick pay, I worked at the Tripartite Commission during the IMF financial crisis, and I have supported it since then." When asked, "I hope you will design sick pay to be applicable to the entire population," he replied, "Understood."

Sick pay refers to compensation for income loss incurred when a person cannot work due to injury or illness unrelated to work. The government recently began a research project to introduce sick pay next year and announced plans to start a pilot project targeting low-income groups in 2022. Based on the pilot project results, the government intends to determine the recipients, conditions, and methods of sick pay payments.

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