[2020 National Audit] Youth Tomorrow Filling Program, One in Four Quit Midway... "Issue of Unfair Treatment"

24.3% of Subscribers Cancel Mid-Term... Must Comply with 2-3 Year Contracts
"Unfair Treatment Such as Forced Overtime Using Contract Period as Leverage"
Companies and Subscribers Concentrated in Seoul Metropolitan Area... Concerns Over Relative Deprivation and Worsening Imbalance

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] It was revealed that one in four subscribers to the Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program terminated their contracts early last year.

According to the operational status data of the Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Yoon Joon-byung, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 7th, 24.3% (23,933 people) out of a total of 98,572 subscribers to the program last year terminated their contracts early. Among them, 19,331 people terminated early due to reasons such as job change, studies, or start-up, and 4,578 people due to company suspension, closure, bankruptcy, or recommended resignation.

The Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program operates as follows: for the 2-year plan, if a youth saves 3 million KRW over 2 years, the government (employment support fund of 9 million KRW) and the company (4 million KRW, government-supported) jointly contribute, and after 2 years, a lump sum of 16 million KRW is paid to the youth. For the 3-year plan, if a youth saves 6 million KRW over 3 years, the government (employment support fund of 18 million KRW) and the company (6 million KRW, government-supported) jointly contribute, and after 3 years, a total of 30 million KRW is paid to the youth.

Since the benefits are provided only if the youth worker complies with the 2-3 year contract period, issues have been raised that this is exploited as a weakness to force difficult work or overtime, and unfair treatment occurs in vacation priority and other areas.

Representative Yoon said, "While preparing for the national audit, a youth reported that 'unfair treatment occurs to workers by holding the 2-3 year contract period of the Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program as a hostage,'" adding, "Such unfair treatment may have had an invisible impact on the early termination rate, so a survey on the actual conditions of youth is necessary."

Concentration of subscribing companies and subscribers to the Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program in the metropolitan area was also confirmed. As of August this year, among the total 45,904 subscribing companies, 25,494 (55.6%) were located in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Among the total 107,105 subscribers, 62,376 (58.3%) were concentrated in Seoul and Gyeonggi.

Representative Yoon stated, "If the Youth Tomorrow Employment Savings Program, which benefits small and medium-sized enterprises and youth, is concentrated in the metropolitan area, it will not only increase relative deprivation but also exacerbate imbalance," and added, "We need to review the demand and supply of the savings program by metropolitan cities and provinces and prepare measures to ensure that youth working in local areas are not excluded from benefits."

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