Seoul City Selects 53 'Seoul-type Small Giants' for Work-Life Balance... "Supporting Youth Employment"

Up to 45 Million KRW Support for Hiring Young Regular Employees with Reinvestment in Work Environment Improvement and Employee Welfare
235,000 KRW Monthly Support for Young Interns Replacing Parental Leave Employees, Up to 23 Months

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has newly selected 53 Seoul-type Small Giants to support the spread of corporate cultures preferred by young people, aiming to improve the perception of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and promote the recruitment of young talent.

Companies selected as Seoul-type Small Giants will receive up to 45 million KRW when hiring young regular employees to reinvest in in-house welfare, and support up to 23 months of wages for young interns replacing employees on parental leave, with a maximum of 2.35 million KRW per month to help resolve work gaps. Education and consulting for spreading work-life balance organizational culture and support for youth recruitment are also provided.

Seoul-type Small Giants can only apply if they are SMEs located in Seoul and certified by public institutions. Selection is made by evenly evaluating job creation performance (increase in regular employees, treatment level of regular employees), corporate excellence (management capability, growth potential), and job quality (employment stability, appropriate wages, welfare system operation, work-life balance system operation).

This year, to select companies with organizational cultures preferred by young people, the evaluation weight of the ‘job quality’ category was increased, and on-site inspections were conducted to check the working environment. Employee interviews were conducted in parallel to thoroughly review welfare spaces and welfare system operation, childcare support system operation, and flexible work system utilization.

Seoul supports ‘work environment improvement funds’ of up to 15 million KRW per young employee and up to 45 million KRW per company to improve in-house welfare and organizational culture when hiring new regular employees aged 18 to 34 residing in Seoul. The work environment improvement funds can be used for marriage and childbirth congratulatory money, self-development expenses, long-term employment support such as subscription fees for the Tomorrow Savings Deduction, COVID-19 quarantine costs, facility improvements such as rest and convenience facilities, and ‘organizational adaptation training’ and ‘horizontal and gender-equal organizational culture workshops’ for new employees.

Additionally, to reduce the burden on SMEs where parental leave was difficult due to manpower shortages, wages of 2.35 million KRW per month (Seoul-type living wage) for ‘young interns replacing employees on parental leave’ are supported for up to 23 months, providing work experience to young interns and alleviating the burden of work gaps for employees on parental leave and SMEs. In particular, the support period is set to a maximum of 23 months, including 3 months before parental leave, the leave period, and 3 months after return, enhancing work handover efficiency through joint work before and after return and helping create an organizational culture where flexible work and maternity protection leave for childcare can be used without burden.

Young interns replacing employees on parental leave can be hired through the Replacement Workforce Bank after applying to Seoul City or directly selected by the company. In addition to the pre-tax wage at the Seoul-type living wage level, the full employer contribution for the four major social insurances is supported, and additional incentives are provided if converted to regular employees after the working period, ensuring employment stability for young people.

Furthermore, from this year, to create a youth-friendly corporate culture that balances work and life, Seoul City collaborates with the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family to conduct customized consulting with experts visiting workplaces directly. A preliminary survey was conducted for all 237 applicant companies during the Seoul-type Small Giants public contest, completing a company-specific work-life balance level diagnosis involving current employees. For the 53 companies finally selected, work-life balance experts will visit directly and provide customized consulting based on the diagnosis results.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Seoul City’s Economic Policy Office, said, “While SMEs suffer from continuous recruitment difficulties, young people are suffering from rising employment barriers and prolonged job search periods. Through the Seoul-type Small Giants support project, we will continuously discover Small Giants that are good workplaces for youth.” He added, “We will foster an organizational culture that balances work and life to improve perceptions of SMEs and ultimately support resolving youth job mismatches without hesitation.”

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