Another Cash Support for Youth Employment... Employment Incentive of '9.6 Million Won Per Person'

Government's 'Youth Special Measures'... Launch of Public-Private TF to Increase Private Sector Employment Including Large Corporations

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government will provide up to 9.6 million KRW annually in 'Job Leap Incentives' to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that hire young workers. The aim is to encourage young people to enter the job market early in their social lives, but there are criticisms that this is no different from existing cash support measures.

On the 26th, the government announced a 'Special Youth Policy' prepared jointly by related ministries at the Youth Policy Coordination Committee chaired by Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum.

The key point is that from the second half of the year, the 'Job Leap Incentive' will be given to 140,000 young people, including high school graduates. Since the current Youth Additional Employment Incentive policy and the Youth Digital Job Support project will end by the end of this year, the government plans to implement the new policy from next year through 2024.

Specifically, SMEs that hire young people aged 18 to 23, including high school graduates, as regular employees will receive up to 9.6 million KRW annually. The government has been providing de facto cash support for labor costs to match young job seekers struggling to find jobs with SMEs facing recruitment difficulties, and this time it has introduced a similar measure.

Additionally, a social reintegration preparation fund policy will be implemented for military personnel who find it relatively difficult to enter the job market. The government will match contributions so that up to 10 million KRW can be saved upon discharge. In this process, government support will be provided up to 2.5 million KRW per person. Annual self-development expenses of 120,000 KRW and support for 50% of online course fees (to be expanded to 80% next year) will also be provided concurrently.

However, the government plans not to stop at simple cash support but also to implement policies that provide quality job opportunities in large corporations, public enterprises, and financial institutions. A task force (TF) will be formed within the government by next month to establish a 'public-private cooperation model.'

Young talent will be intensively trained in high-income promising fields such as Information Technology (IT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital, green, and bio sectors. To this end, related ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Science and ICT will cooperate to expand talent development programs based on a 'company-led, government-supported' approach. Training will be conducted through major companies' training institutions, followed by direct hiring by companies or employment support for partner firms.

In addition, the number of young people eligible for the Youth Job-Seeking Promotion Allowance under the National Employment Support System will be increased by 20,000 (from 150,000 to 170,000), and employment increase tax credits (5 million to 13 million KRW per young person) will be implemented.

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