Who Receives the 3 Million Won Job-Seeking Allowance... Assets Under 300 Million Won and Below 50% Median Income

Implementation of the National Employment Support System from January Next Year
Related Enforcement Decree Confirmed at Cabinet Meeting on the 15th
Job-Seeking Allowance and Employment Support Services for 400,000 People
Type 2 Connects 190,000 People to the 'Chwiseongpae' Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Starting January next year, up to 400,000 vulnerable job seekers, including low-income individuals and youth, will receive job-seeking allowances of up to 3 million KRW. The eligibility criteria for the job-seeking allowance have been finalized as having assets below 300 million KRW and income at or below 50% of the median income.

On the 15th, the government reviewed and approved the "Enforcement Decree of the Job Seeker Employment Promotion and Livelihood Stabilization Support Act" at the Cabinet meeting. This decree specifies the income and asset requirements and mandatory compliance standards for the National Employment Support System, which will take effect from January 1 next year.

The National Employment Support System is a "Korean-style unemployment assistance" program that provides both employment and livelihood support to vulnerable groups such as low-income job seekers, youth, and women with career interruptions. Anyone aged 15 to 69 in vulnerable employment groups can receive employment support services such as vocational training and work experience. In particular, low-income job seekers will receive a job-seeking promotion allowance of 500,000 KRW per month for up to six months. The Type 1 recipients eligible for the job-seeking allowance total 400,000 people and must meet all three criteria: income, assets, and employment experience.

The income criterion is set at "50% or less of the median income." For next year, this corresponds to approximately 910,000 KRW for a single-person household and 2.44 million KRW for a four-person household. The household includes the applicant, spouse, parents, and children registered in the resident registration. Some exceptions will be allowed depending on whether they actually share living expenses. The asset criterion is set at "300 million KRW or less," calculated based on land, buildings, and houses, including pre-sale rights and automobiles.

The employment experience criterion requires at least 100 days or 800 hours within the past two years. Considering participation by special-type workers (special employment types), a standard allowing conversion of income to working hours has been established. If income within the past two years exceeds 6.84 million KRW, the employment experience requirement is considered met. Approximately 150,000 people, including youth with job-seeking intentions (at 120% of median income) and women with career interruptions who find it difficult to meet the employment experience requirement, will also be supported.

Of course, participants can receive the job-seeking allowance only if they fulfill job-seeking activities. They must comply with mandatory job-seeking activities such as vocational training and work experience programs according to their employment activity plan. Considering difficulties in job-seeking activities due to COVID-19, activities such as preparing for entrepreneurship and enhancing professional skills will also be recognized as job-seeking activities.

To prevent moral hazard from repeated participation solely for the allowance, the re-participation restriction period is set at three years. However, if employment or entrepreneurship occurs after the end of employment support, the restriction period can be shortened by up to one year. For example, if the employment period is less than six months, the restriction period is two years; if the employment period is one year or more, the restriction period is shortened to one year. For those whose eligibility is canceled due to fraud, the re-participation restriction period is extended to five years.

The Employment Success Package, restructured and operated as Type 2 under the National Employment Support System, supports a total of 190,000 people. The Type 2 criteria include ▲ low-income job seekers aged 15 to 69 with income at or below 60% of the median income ▲ specific groups such as livelihood benefit recipients, homeless people, and North Korean defectors ▲ youth aged 18 to 34 ▲ job seekers aged 35 to 69 with income at or below 100% of the median income. Type 2 participants do not receive job-seeking allowances but are provided with employment support services and up to 2.65 million KRW in employment activity costs when participating in vocational training.

Kwon Ki-seop, Director of Employment Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "As COVID-19 has recently entered a resurgence phase, difficulties are increasing again, especially among vulnerable groups." He added, "We will open the application website early by the end of this month to support self-diagnosis of income and assets so that applicants can prepare in advance."

He continued, "We will focus on guiding potential beneficiary groups such as the near-poor to apply for the National Employment Support System," adding, "We will prepare to ensure that allowances can be paid as soon as possible."

Job seekers visiting the 'Job Fair'. (Not related to the article content)

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