Ruling Party and Government to Eliminate Blind Spots in Disaster Relief Funds... Additional 3-Month Support for Special Employment Workers

Special Employment Workers Included in 4th Disaster Relief Fund... Bridging to Employment Insurance Coverage
Consideration to Include Restaurant Assistants and Childcare Providers

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Jang Se-hee and Moon Chae-seok] As the ruling party and government have settled on a 'selective' approach for the 4th round of disaster relief payments, they plan to provide additional support to groups initially left out. Accordingly, the ruling party and government have decided to include special-type workers (teukgo) such as delivery drivers and private tutors in the 4th disaster relief payment recipients. This reflects the reality of teukgo workers whose employment remains unstable until employment insurance coverage begins in July.

A government official stated on the 17th, "For teukgo workers, it takes time before they are covered by employment insurance as a social safety net," adding, "The ruling party and government share a consensus that they must be able to sustain their livelihoods until before July." Accordingly, workers in 11 sectors?including insurance planners, credit card and loan solicitors, private tutors, visiting teachers, delivery drivers, rental product inspection personnel, home appliance delivery drivers, door-to-door salespeople, container truck owners, construction machinery operators, and after-school instructors?will receive emergency employment stabilization support of 500,000 KRW plus α per person per month from April through June.

Although the government announced it would actively promote nationwide employment insurance expanding coverage by 7.33 million people by 2025, criticism followed that some blind spots emerged because the initial focus was on teukgo workers covered by industrial accident insurance. In addition to teukgo workers, plans are under review to provide additional support to restaurant assistants, child caregivers, and platform workers who have been hit hard by COVID-19.

President Moon Jae-in also previously stated, "We are supporting income stabilization for teukgo workers, freelancers, and corporate taxi drivers," and added, "We will devise additional support measures for vulnerable groups in the upcoming 4th disaster relief payments," thereby expanding the support targets for vulnerable groups.

The 4th disaster relief payments focus on "resolving blind spots." The self-employed and small business sectors will also be carefully selected based on the extent of damage. The aim is to distribute support funds more precisely according to the level of impact. The previously controversial 400 million KRW sales threshold will be raised to 1 billion KRW, and the criterion of having five or more employees will also be expanded. Furthermore, there was controversy over support being limited to one payment per person even if they owned multiple businesses and paid taxes separately. Accordingly, the government is also considering additional support for business owners with multiple businesses, new startups, and those who have closed businesses.

Experts emphasize that support for affected groups is necessary but that limited resources must be used effectively. Professor Andong-hyun of Seoul National University’s Department of Economics said, "The intention to identify platform workers who fall into the blind spots of industrial accident insurance is good," but added, "Since resources are limited, support should be allocated based on the degree of damage." Professor Kim Tae-gi of Dankook University’s Department of Economics also stated, "It is important to select recipients based on clear principles," adding, "Support should be provided according to the extent of damage to vulnerable groups."

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