Worker Vacation Support Program Partners with 'Naeil Chaeum Gongje'

Korea Tourism Organization and Small and Medium Business Corporation Sign Business Agreement

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea Tourism Organization and the Small and Medium Business Corporation announced on the 23rd that they will sign a business agreement at the Tourism Organization Seoul Center to support the employee vacation support project for companies enrolled in the ‘Tomorrow Filling Deduction’ program.

The employee vacation support project, hosted by the Tourism Organization, is a program where employees pay 200,000 KRW, and the respective company and government each contribute 100,000 KRW, accumulating a total of 400,000 KRW to be used for domestic travel expenses. The main point of the agreement is that the Small and Medium Business Corporation will support the company’s share of 100,000 KRW per person. The target group consists of approximately 4,000 participants enrolled in the Tomorrow Filling Deduction program.

Additionally, the Small and Medium Business Corporation will grant certification and benefits to companies that introduce performance sharing and participate in the employee vacation support project. The Tourism Organization will also provide additional support, such as awarding 10,000 points per person through a lottery to employees of performance-sharing companies who apply for the vacation support project.

The employee vacation support project was first launched in 2018 to promote a “life with breaks” and tourism welfare for workers in small and medium enterprises and small business owners. Starting with 2,441 companies and 20,000 people in the first year, participation grew to 11,931 companies and 96,086 people last year, establishing itself as a major welfare program for small and medium enterprises.

Furthermore, cases of win-win cooperation support between public institutions and large corporations for small and medium enterprises, like this agreement, have been steadily increasing. In particular, participation in the employee vacation support project can be recognized as additional points in the evaluation of the co-prosperity index for public enterprises and large corporations. This is also attracting attention as a positive case contributing to social values such as improving welfare for partner companies and revitalizing local tourism. Last year, 19 companies including the Construction Workers’ Mutual Aid Association, Korea Western Power, and the Foundation for Agricultural Technology Commercialization supported about 1,600 employees from 160 partner companies.

Park Insik, head of the Tourism Welfare Center at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, “The employee vacation support project has become increasingly important as one of the ‘three representative welfare benefits for small and medium enterprises’ preferred by job seekers, along with the Tomorrow Filling Deduction.” He added, “Although the project has been suspended this year due to COVID-19, we plan to proceed with it in consultation with health authorities once the COVID-19 situation improves.”

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