Hong Nam-ki Announces New Incentives: "2.4 Million KRW Per Person" for Additional Elderly Hiring and Labor Transition Support Grants

'Measures to Address Employment Shock from Population Cliff' and Other Remarks at the 46th Emergency Economic Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Meeting

Proposing Hiring Incentives for the Elderly and Strengthening Employment Safety Nets Including Industrial Accident Insurance for Special and Platform Workers

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki delivering opening remarks at the 46th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki announced on the 30th, "We will expand the employment retention incentives for elderly workers and establish new incentives for additional hiring and labor transition support."

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Hong presided over the 46th Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office and discussed "Measures to respond to employment shocks caused by the demographic cliff," stating, "To actively respond to the large-scale retirement of the baby boomer generation among the elderly, which has become a reality since last year, we will promote support for activating elderly employment and improving productivity."

The government allocated 5.4 billion KRW in next year's budget to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have increased the number of elderly workers aged 60 and above compared to the previous three years. This system provides 300,000 KRW quarterly per person for up to two years to SMEs confirmed to have increased employment of elderly workers aged 60 and above compared to the previous three years. This means a maximum of 2.4 million KRW per person. For example, if Company A, which employed 100 workers aged 60 or older over the past three years, increases that number to 105 next year, the employer of Company A will receive 12 million KRW (2.4 million KRW per person for 5 people). Although the employment retention incentive for elderly workers is currently in operation, this policy encourages hiring elderly workers by considering that workplaces without a retirement age system and those hiring new elderly workers aged 60 or older are excluded from support.

Additionally, 5.1 billion KRW will be invested next year to provide up to 3 million KRW per worker for elderly career transition support services. The target for job training for middle-aged and baby boomer workers will be expanded from 1,500 to 2,500 people, and the scope of K-Digital Credit support will be broadened to include all middle-aged workers. The additional 500,000 KRW training fee for the National Tomorrow Learning Card, originally provided to middle-aged female job seekers, will be extended to all middle-aged job seekers to support the development of basic digital skills.

The government also announced plans to strengthen the employment safety net for special employment workers (teukgoyongjik, or teukgo) and platform workers. Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "Recently, due to the unique nature of platform labor and other non-face-to-face digital jobs, accidents such as overwork deaths among workers in legal and institutional blind spots have occurred consecutively." He added, "We will actively finalize the legislation of the four platform laws already proposed earlier this year, and promote mandatory health checkups for high-risk special employment workers, as well as support costs for improving working conditions at platform companies." He emphasized, "We will continue to expand the coverage of industrial accident insurance to strengthen protection for approximately 500,000 to 700,000 workers in blind spots, and further strengthen the social safety net by including platform workers under the scope of the 'Labor Welfare Basic Act.'"

Furthermore, the government plans to actively respond to productivity decline and lack of skilled technology due to the aging of skilled workers in industrial sites by digitizing the know-how of skilled workers in six major root industries. By 2025, 100 model cases of AI-utilized smart factories will be established, and an additional 14,000 young technical managers for smart factory management will be trained.

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