Ha Tae-kyung "Public Officials and Teachers Should Also Pay Employment Insurance"... Announces 8th Pledge

Ha Tae-kyung, Member of the People Power Party Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, has announced a pledge to expand the scope of employment insurance coverage to include public officials and teachers in order to resolve the employment insurance deficit.

On the morning of the 10th, Ha held a press conference at the National Assembly and announced his 8th pledge, stating, "Before raising the employment insurance premium rate, we will first promote the mandatory enrollment of public officials and teachers, who are currently excluded from the employment insurance premium payment system."

He said, "Employment insurance is the last line of defense protecting the unemployed and their families, as well as the most fundamental social safety net," adding, "While employment insurance maintained a surplus until 2017, it turned into a deficit under the Moon Jae-in administration." He further explained that the accumulated deficit over the past three years exceeds 8 trillion won.

He continued, "Currently, public officials and teachers are excluded from mandatory employment insurance enrollment because their employment is considered stable due to job security," but added, "However, having those with stable employment and income contribute to employment insurance aligns with the purpose of social security insurance."

Ha stated, "If approximately 1.5 million public officials and teachers share the burden of employment insurance premiums, about 2.4 trillion won could be additionally secured annually," noting, "This amount corresponds to as much as 12% of the unemployment benefits paid to over 1.8 million unemployed individuals last year."

He also encouraged the National Public Officials Labor Union and the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union to participate in the campaign for employment insurance enrollment and premium payment.

He emphasized the need for reform, saying, "The benefits will also extend to newly enrolled public officials and teachers, in addition to existing insured workers. Unemployment is not someone else's problem. As the Fourth Industrial Revolution accelerates and labor reforms increase job mobility, everyone in our society will experience unemployment at least once in their lifetime."

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