200,000 Unemployed Youth to Receive 500,000 Won in Cash... Online Applications Open Starting Tomorrow

Ministry of Employment Announces Implementation of 102.5 Billion KRW 'Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund'
Text Messages Sent to Priority 1 and 2 Recipients... Support Fund to be Paid Before Chuseok
Second Application Period from October 12 to 24... Payments to be Completed by November

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] With the passage of the 4th supplementary budget through the National Assembly, the Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund project, which provides 500,000 KRW to low-income unemployed youth, has been confirmed. Not only unemployed youth who participated in the job-seeking support program but also those who participate in the Employment Success Package by the 24th of next month can receive the support fund.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 23rd the implementation of the Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund, which is paid to low-income unemployed youth who have the intention to seek employment. This project was introduced considering the difficult youth employment conditions caused by the reduction and postponement of hiring due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and the prolonged job-seeking period.

Eligible recipients will receive a one-time cash payment of 500,000 KRW, and if they wish, services such as employment counseling, job placement, and vocational training will be provided. The Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund project has a budget of 102.5 billion KRW.

The target recipients are unemployed youth affected by the economic downturn who participated in the Employment Success Package (Chwiseongpae) or the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund between 2019 and 2020. Even those who have not previously participated in the project can receive the support fund if they participate in the Employment Success Package by the 24th of next month.

Civil servants, private school faculty and staff, and military personnel are excluded from eligibility. If the support fund is obtained through fraudulent means, the amount will be reclaimed, and a penalty fee up to five times the amount must be paid.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor prioritized support by comprehensively considering factors such as whether the job-seeking promotion allowance was received, the elapsed time after receiving it, and income level. According to this, support is provided in the order of ① low-income vulnerable unemployed youth who have not received the job-seeking promotion allowance ② youth who participated in the job-seeking support program last year but are still unemployed with a long job-seeking period ③ youth who participated in the job-seeking support program this year but are still unemployed.

Looking more specifically at the priority order, the first priority includes low-income individuals who are not eligible for the job-seeking promotion allowance and who ▲ started and completed or are currently participating in the Employment Success Package Type 1 program between January 1, 2019, and September 10, 2020, or ▲ newly participated in the Employment Success Package Type 1 program between September 11, 2020, and October 24, 2020.

The second priority includes ▲ youth who started participating in the Employment Success Package Type 2 program after January 1, 2019, and completed participation before December 31, 2019 ▲ youth who started participating in the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund after January 1, 2019, and completed participation before December 31, 2019 ▲ those who started participating in the Employment Success Package Type 1 program between 2019 and 2020 and completed participation before July 31, 2020, who are either eligible for or have already received the job-seeking promotion allowance.

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The third priority includes ▲ youth who started participating in the Employment Success Package Type 2 program between January 1, 2019, and September 10, 2020, and completed participation after January 1, 2020, or are still participating ▲ youth who newly participated in the Employment Success Package Type 2 program between September 11, 2020, and October 24, 2020. However, for Type 2 youth who were re-verified for income eligibility during participation and received the job-seeking promotion allowance, support is provided only if participation ended before July 31, 2020.

The third priority also includes youth who started participating in the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund between 2019 and 2020 and completed participation before July 31, 2020.

If the number of eligible recipients exceeds the budget range, separate criteria will be applied within the third priority group for payment. Participants in the Employment Success Package are prioritized over those in the Youth Job-Seeking Activity Support Fund, and within each program, earlier participation is advantageous.

On the same day, the Ministry of Employment and Labor sent pre-application text messages to about 60,000 people in the first and second priority groups. They can apply for the support fund over two days, the 24th and 25th, through the 'Online Youth Center.' Applications will be accepted using an odd-even system: on the 24th, those whose resident registration number ends with an even digit (0, 2, 4, 6, 8) can apply, and on the 25th, those with an odd digit (1, 3, 5, 7, 9) can apply. The support fund for these youth is expected to be paid before Chuseok.

The official application period is from the 12th to the 24th of next month. Both third priority recipients and those in the first and second priority groups who did not apply during the first period can apply. During the second application period, a day-of-the-week system will be operated. Based on the last digit of the resident registration number, applications can be submitted on Monday for digits 1 and 6, Tuesday for 2 and 7, Wednesday for 3 and 8, Thursday for 4 and 9, Friday for 5 and 0, and on Saturday and Sunday, everyone can apply. Applications will be accepted through the Online Youth Center, and payments are planned to be completed by the end of November.

Detailed information about the Youth Special Job-Seeking Support Fund can be obtained through phone and KakaoTalk consultations at the Online Youth Center and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Customer Service Center.

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